Don't Say a Word (HSM)
by BlossomOnATree
Summary: When Troy Bolton is forced to do community service,he volunteers at a hospital.There he meets a girl with a dark secret that could mean life or death for her and others around her.Suddenly he finds himself caught between saving her or saving his family.TG *Strong Language/mention suicide
1. Prologue

**This is the prologue to my new story Dont Say a Word which is loosly based on the 2001 movie of the same name. This is my first HSM fic so I hope you like it. It's kind of dark and might contain a lot of bad language, but I hope you can give it a try. Please dont forget to review!**

**Disclaimer: I don not own HSM or the 2001 movie Dont Say a Word.**

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**Prologue**

She saw them again today. This time, it was after school. They didn't do anything but watch her from a black four door Sedan parked right outside the student parking lot. The windows were tinted and even though she couldn't see them, she knew they were there, watching, waiting for her to do something.

This was the third time she saw them this week. It was five o'clock and even though school had ended more than two hours ago, she stayed in the library to study for her math test. The parking lot seemed so empty, a clear resemblance of her life. Its not that she liked being alone, in fact she was known as a social butterfly, that is, before IT happened.

She was now facing her bathroom mirror after making sure all the windows and the curtains in the house were closed. Her so called 'mom' had asked her why she was closing them. All she had said was that it was almost night time and that it was best to close them now instead of later. Her 'mom' just nodded her head and went back to cooking dinner.

The water was running in the bathtub as she stared at her dark sullen eyes. Her eyes that were once a nice chocolate brown so full of life now seemed dead. She was thinner now, and lost almost all of her color from her face. Her hair which was once long and held dark luscious curls now seemed damp and stringy.

She walked out of her bathroom and walked towards the window in her room. She slowly opened a small crack of her curtain and looked out. They were still there. _'Probably waiting for me to go to bed so they can report back to HIM.' _she thought. She quickly closed the curtain and grabbed a pair of sharp scissors that she kept in her desk drawer. She walked back into the bathroom and shut the door.

The tub was half full now. She estimated that it would over flow in about ten minutes or so. She sighed and sat down on the toilet. She looked down at the scissors she held in her hands, slowly observing the sharpness of the blades as she slowly kept opening and closing them. Tears started to form in her eyes. She had to do this. She had no choice. If she didn't, people would just keep getting hurt. Her heart started pounding as she looked back at the bathtub. '_Just a few more minutes.'_ she thought till the tub would finally be filled.

As she saw the water slowly start to rise, she suddenly thought about her school East High. She had just been there for no more than three months. The first thing she noticed when she got there was the feeling of school spirit and family. Oh, how she wished she could get that feeling. She wished that she could make friends easily, but she knew better. She knew that if she made at least one friend, they would ask questions about her past life, questions which would bring memories she wanted to keep in the back of her mind. There was also that huge risk of THEM finding out and hurting the ones close to her. So she decided to isolate herself to the point where no one would even know who she was at graduation if she ended up graduating from that school, like she was promised.

'_Good,'_ she thought, _'at least no one will notice.'_

The tub was overflowing now. She slowly stood from her spot on the toilet and walked towards the mirror right above the sink. She opened the small cabinet next to the mirror and took out a half empty bottle of pills and an empty cup which she quickly filled with water. She opened the bottle and spilled all of its contents on her palm. She stared at them for a moment before one by one she swallowed them with the water. She suddenly dropped the cup which broke on the floor. She slowly stumbled towards the overflowing bathtub, but not before she grabbed the scissors.

She opened the scissors as she felt her eyes get heavy. _'Almost done.'_ she thought. She grabbed one of the sharp blades and brought it close to the pale skin of her wrist. A faint cry of pain escaped her mouth. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that in just a few minutes, she would be gone, and no one would ever bother her again. She looked down as arms started to drip with blood. The bloody hand grabbed the blade and slowly cut her other wrist. Tears stated to form in her eyes as she tried to open them once more. She suddenly felt so empty and tired. All the feeling in her legs was gone. She found that she could no longer hold her balance and fell back into the tub. Water rapidly began to fill in her lungs as she felt her back touch the bottom of the tub.

'_This is it.'_ she thought. _'It's almost over. All my pain will finally be over.' _

She tried to open her eyes once more. Her vision was blurred as she could see the mint colored ceiling above her. Her life would now be over. Nothing could get to her now. The memories, the pain, nothing could reach her, not even HIM. She looked up at the light coming from the light bulb above the mirror before her world suddenly became black.

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**So thats the prologue. I hope you guys like it. PLEASE review! If I get enough, I'll update early.**

**P.S. I know I have an unfinished project in the X-men category. I just want to say that I'm sooooo sorry about that. It is very unlikely that I will update it any time soon becaus eof the fact that I've had a major writers block. I have no idea where to go from the last chapter. But dont worry, I'll update it sometime soon.**


	2. Notice

**I want to say that i'm sooo happy that you guys like my story. I promise you it will get better. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. It mean so much to me. Second, I just want to let you guys know that unfortunatly I will only be able to update on the weekends. However, if I have time, I will try to have at least two chapters ready and typed up so that you guys can read it by Friday. So yea, lol!**

**Here's the first chapter. I hope you like it. Its more of an introduction type of chapter, so yea. I hope you guys are not disappointed. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own anything.**

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**Chapter 1**

"Dude, did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"About that Montez girl?"

"What about her?"

"She tried to kill herself."

Troy looked up at his best friend of eleven years. His blue eyes were wide with shock as his curly haired friend nodded his head up and down.

"No!" he said with an unbelievable look on his face, "You mean that freaky math girl Montez? The one who's always here way too early and leaves way too late?"

Chad did nothing but nod his head.

"You mean the Montez who constantly corrects Mr. Parker, the chemistry teacher and somehow managed to get every single question on the state exam correct?"

Chad nodded his head again.

"You mean the Montez that is the only student that is actually on Mrs. Darbus' good side besides Sharpay and Ryan?"

Chad once again nodded his head and rolled his eyes.

"The Montez that tries to make herself invisible as much as possible but always gets noticed because all the teachers praise her every time she gets an A on a test? That Montez?"

Chad rolled his eyes and stopped Troy before he could continue, "Yes Troy, for the last time, it was that Montez."

"Wow." said Troy as he looked around the teenage infested cafeteria room.

"Why do you look so shocked?" asked his friend as he bit into his mustard dripping sandwich, "It's not like you actually talked to her."

"First of all, how can you not be so shocked? I-mean a girl who practically has her life all planned out and will probably be a physicist or a doctor or what ever the fuck it is she wants to be before she's twenty tried to commit suicide. Second, I actually have spoken to her before."

Chad just stared at his friend with a doubtful look on his face.

"I asked her for a pencil once, which I gave back to her at the end of class." said Troy with a triumphant look.

"FYI, saying words like 'Can I borrow a pencil?' does not exactly qualify as a full conversation."

Troy rolled his eyes, "Well I'm _sorry_ for not having a five minute conversation with her." He gave a small sigh, "It's just shocking you know? I-mean one minute she's there looking down at her hands shyly while Mr. Parker praises her for being the only girl in the history of East High to get and A+ in AP chemistry, and the next minute she's dead."

"News flash, I said she tried to kill herself, not that she actually did do it."

"Oh," Troy said dumbfounded, "still. How can someone like her end their life?"

"I don't know. All I know is that she was found in her bathroom with an empty bottle of pills and bleeding wrists."

"Wow, sounds like she really wanted to die." Troy looked down at his ham sandwich which suddenly seemed unappetizing to him, "How do you know all of this anyway?"

"I heard Mckessi tell Neilson in homeroom. Turns out Mckessi lives next door to Montez and saw the whole thing. I bet the whole school probably knows by now. You know how gossipy those two can be. Neilson probably told Jason who probably told Zeke who would have told Sharpay and, well, need I say more?"

Troy rolled his eyes and gave a small laugh at his friends comment. It was true, the blonde was notorious for knowing everything about everyone and making sure everyone else knew everything about everyone as well. If only she knew why Gabriella Montez had suddenly decided to try and kill herself. Then, maybe Troy wouldn't feel as guilty as he did now.

He suddenly began to look around again. There were cliques everywhere, the skater guys sat at the table closest to the stairs just to skate down the rail when a teacher wasn't looking. The stoners sat next to them, near the exit that led outside just so the smell of weed wouldn't be as obvious if someone walked by. The nerds sat with their books and laptops, isolating themselves near the windows. The loners sat either on the floor under the windows or they were just scattered around. The athletes like himself sat in the middle tables with each table representing a different sport while the cheerleaders and dancers surrounded them. And of course, the people that thought they were too good to sit with everyone else, usually the drama/rich kids like Sharpay and Ryan, sat on the balcony that over looked the cafeteria. The rest of the tables were occupied by the so called normal people or 'the norms' as Chad liked to call them. He suddenly wondered what table Gabriella belonged to. He swore he never saw her with the nerds, and he was defenitly sure she didn't sit with the skaters or the stoners. Then where did she sit?

This question came to his mind as he looked around again to see if any of the tables looked grief stricken. If there was, then maybe that's where Gabriella sat. Her friends would definitely be sad and hurt that their friend tried to kill herself…wouldn't they?

However, the more he looked around, the more he came to realize that everyone was just going about their business as if nothing had happened. None of the tables looked like they were hurting. Instead everyone seemed to act like this was any other day in the life of an East High student. The 'norms' were minding their own business, the other athletes were having food competitions while the cheerleaders cheered them on, the nerds were too occupied with their books, the loners looked bored out of their minds, the skaters were skating down the rail, the stoners looked more stoned than ever, and the rich kids looked more self obsessed, if that was even possible.

Maybe…maybe no one knows. Maybe Chad's wrong and Sharpay hasn't told the whole school yet. Or maybe…maybe no one cared. A sudden feeling of guiltiness took over Troy's body as he took a sip from his blueberry Gatorade.

"Chad?" he said as more of a question than a statement.

His friend looked up as he licked the mustard off of his fingers, "What?"

Troy looked around again, suddenly relieved that he and Chad were currently the only ones at the basketball table since all the other ones wanted to see who could stuff the most hot dogs down their throats between them and the football team, "If-if I tried to kill myself, do you think anyone would notice?"

Chad coughed as he almost chocked on his own lime Gatorade. He suddenly looked up into his friends blue eyes, "Dude, of course people would notice. You're the captain. Troy, you're the most popular guy in school. If something happened to you, East High would declare a national Troy Bolton day just to show how much they love you."

Troy sighed again and picked at his sandwich. Chad was right. Troy was the most popular guy in school. After all, he was captain of the varsity basketball team. He was loved by every single person that had ovaries, and was worshipped by those who didn't. People noticed everything about him, which he sometimes found kind of creepy. I-mean do complete strangers randomly offer to throw your gum away for you just so you wouldn't get detention for sticking it under the desk, and thus not getting enough practice to win the big game? _'I think not.'_ thought Troy.

"Why are you even asking me this?" asked Chad.

"I don't know." shrugged Troy, "I guess the whole thought of suicide makes you wonder if anyone here cares about what happened to Montez. I-mean look around. No one here seems to know about it and if they do then nobody seems to care. I guess it just made me wonder if people actually pay attention."

Chad looked around the cafeteria. He gave a small sigh as he looked back at his best friend, "I guess your right. But then again, you never really did see her with anyone else. Maybe she was a like, a loner or something?"

"I guess your right. But still, it kind of sucks that someone as smart as her made such a small impact on everyone here. I feel kind of bad now."

"Troy, it's not your fault. You didn't even know the girl, like you said, you've only spoken to her once and that was just to ask her for a pencil. And besides, she's only been here for like, what three months? I don't know about you, but newbie's don't really make great impacts on people, especially when you're that shy."

Troy sighed again while Chad looked down at Troy's uneaten sandwich, "Are you gonna eat that?" he asked.

Troy gave a small chuckle and shook his head. Chad took that as the signal to reach over and started to chug down the sandwich.

The bell suddenly rung, signaling the end of lunch. Troy and Chad stood up, walked out of the cafeteria, and headed for their lockers. Troy opened his locker and groaned as he realized he had English with Darbus next. He unwilling got his notebook and closed his locker. He said bye to Chad and headed towards his English class.

He stepped into the class and went straight for desk in the front of the room and sat down. He laid his head on the desk and he waited for everyone to finish saying hi to him and sit down in their rightful places. Once the tardy bell rang, he looked towards the door, as if he was waiting for someone else to walk in. A feeling of disappointment hit him when he realized no one else was going to walk in. Around him, people were talking and some even tried to talk to him while they waited for Darbus to finish writing something on the board. However, Troy didn't really feel like talking much. Instead, he looked back to see the empty desk in the back of the room.

Chad was right. People would definitely notice if he went missing. Troy was worshipped here. He had everything he wanted, popularity, money, and girls. But as he stared at the empty desk in the back of the room, he couldnt help but wonder why he suddenly felt so empty inside.

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**So thats the first chapter! I hope you liked it. PLEASE make me happy again and REVIEW! I do read and respond to all of them, and if your an anonymous reviewer, Im sorry I couldnt respond, but thanks again!**


	3. A New Patient

**Hey guys! I decided to update early because I might not be able to update tomorrow. **

**I must say that I was a bit disappointed about the reviews. I-mean, I'm not the type of person to demand reviews but I didnt think it was fair for me to get 6 reviews for the prologue and 2 for the official chapter, especially if there about 12 people who have my story on alert. I was expecting at leas 4 or 5 but all I got was 2. So 'm begging you guys to REVIEW or else how am I going to kow if people actually like my story? With that being said, I wanted to thank and dedicate this chapter to _liv3.in.lov3_ and _sort of forever._! They're the only ones who bothered to review and I'm so thankful for that. Their reviews made me very happy! Thanks again guys!**

**The first part of this chapter is another introduction and the second part kind of sets up the plot. I promise, the real action will start soon!**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T own anything...sadly.**

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**Chapter 2**

Dr. Jaime Sullivan was the best doctor in all of Albuquerque. She graduated at the top of her class in med school and was the first woman to publish a book about the human mind under the age of thirty-five. She had a PhD in just about anything you could imagine and had the awards to prove for it. With her long blonde hair, her perfect figure, and her beautiful face, Dr. Jaime Sullivan was indeed the epitome of brains and beauty. There was not one patient who she could not quickly diagnose and help treat. Her history with patients was extremely remarkable for not one of them were ever admitted back into the hospital. She often got 'Thank You' cards from them and was always extremely happy when they would tell her about how much she helped them change their lives.

However, as Dr. Sullivan walked into the hospital on this cold December morning, a sudden feeling of doubt came over, almost as if this day was not going to be like any other day. She quickly pushed those thoughts aside as she headed towards the elevator and pushed the 'Up' button. Once inside the elevator, she pushed the button with the number 12, the psychiatric ward.

When the elevator signaled that she was finally on the twelfth floor, she stepped out and headed towards the front desk.

"Good morning Alice." she said to the nice brunette behind the counter, while she grabbed a few folders and started looking through them.

"Good morning Dr. Sullivan." replied the gentle clerk.

"Anything happen last night?"

"When doesn't anything happen? I swear, the residents down in the ER think that they can just send up as many people as they please. In my opinion, the only reason they send the patients up is just so they wouldn't have anything to do with them anymore."

Dr Sullivan chuckled at the clerk's remark. It was true, most of the time, when the residents didn't know what to do about a patient; they would send them up to the psychiatric ward to get evaluated. Most of the patients sent up were released with the next hour.

"I'll see you later Alice." Dr. Sullivan said as she began to walk away towards her office.

"Oh," said Alice, "Dr. Sullivan, before I forget, Dr. Benton wants to see you before you start your morning rounds."

Dr. Sullivan nodded her head and began to walk towards her boss's office. However, as she walked towards the office, she bumped into a tall dark skinned man. She looked up and realized that it was just the man she was looking for.

"Dr. Benton," she said as the man gave her a small smile, "I was just about to go to your office. Alice told me you wanted to see me."

"Ah, yes, I did." said Dr. Benton, "Come, walk with me."

Dr. Sullivan nodded her head and started to walk down the corridor with her boss.

"Jaime, in all my years at working here in this hospital, I have never had quiet a talented Doctor as you. You have always exceeded everyone's expectations and have definitely proven yourself to be worthy of taking my position once I leave."

"Thank you sir, you of all people know how serious I take my job."

"Yes, as I said, you completely exceed everyone's expectations. But that's not what I want to speak to you about."

He suddenly gave her a folder that he had been caring with him. She accepted the folder and started to go through its contents.

"What's this?" she asked.

"A seventeen-year-old girl came in last night with wrists sliced open, a lot of drugs in her system, and water in her lungs."

"Wow, sounds like she really wanted to die."

"Yes, it would seem. Luckily, the doctors downstairs were able to revive her and they sent her up here."

"Do we know why?"

"No. She left no note, no indication of what she wanted to do."

"What about her friends?"

"She doesn't have any. Her foster mom said she just moved here about three months ago."

"Foster mom?"

"She's in foster care. Her foster mom discovered her in the bottom of the bathtub bleeding and unconscious. She said she though something was wrong when she called the girl to dinner and she didn't respond. She said she went up the stairs and noticed water coming out of the girl's room. That's when she looked in the bathroom and found her."

"It must feel horrible to know Social Services gave you a suicidal person to look after."

"I bet it does."

"But sir, what does this have to do with me?"

"I want you to help her. She woke up about an hour ago. But she won't talk to anyone; she won't even look at anyone. All she does is sit on her bed and stare at the wall."

"She must be in shock." said Dr. Sullivan, "She wanted to die so bad that she's shocked she didn't. She's probably wondering what went wrong and if God's punishing her by making her live on."

"I certainly hope it is." he said as they suddenly stopped in front of a door with a small window, "She's in here."

Dr. Sullivan looked through the small window. All she saw was a frail thin body with long, dark stringy hair. She gave a small sigh as she turned to look back at her boss.

"I'll do everything I can."

"I know you will. You're all she has now."

Dr. Sullivan nodded her head as Dr. Benton turned to leave.

"Wait, Dr. Benton?" she said as more of a question.

Dr. Benton turned back to look at her.

"What's her name?"

"Gabriella Montez."

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"Hey Troy, we're still on for tonight right?" asked Chad as he slipped on his shirt in the boys locker room. Basketball practice had just ended half an hour ago and Troy and his friends were getting ready to leave.

"What are you talking about?" asked the blue eyed captain.

Chad, Zeke, Jason, and a couple other guys from the team all turned to look at Troy with shocked looks on their faces. Troy, suddenly realizing that everyone was staring at him, reached behind his neck and softly scratched himself. Why was everyone staring at him?

"What?" he asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

"You're about to have my fist all over your face unless you remember what tonight is." said Chad as he took one step forward towards his best friend.

"Uh…" Troy stuttered as he stared to back up, "it-it's not your birthday is it?"

"Great!" yelled Chad as he threw his arms in the air for dramatic effect, "How are we supposed to trash the West High gym if our captain doesn't even remember?"

"Oh." said Troy as a sudden realization dawned on him. Of course, tonight was the night the East High Wildcats were supposed tepee and completely trash the West High gym as a payback for last weekend. Last Weekend, the knights decided to crash an exclusive wildcat party. However, they were kicked out and brutally ridiculed by the basketball team, namely Troy, Jason, and Chad. The knights, embarrassed and filled with rage, decided to have a little payback by completely trashing all the wildcat cars. It was then that Troy and his team had declared war and decided that the following week, they would teach the knights a lesson:

Payback's a bitch.

The only thing wrong with this full proof plan was the fact that Troy had indeed forgotten about it. It wasn't his fault though! At least, that's what he told himself as his back hit the lockers behind him in an attempt to back away from an angry looking Chad.

"Oh?!" Chad yelled, "_You _were the one who declared war and came up with the plan and not to mention, completely forgot about it and all you can say is 'Oh'? You got to be fucking kidding me!"

"I-I'm sorry?" said Troy as more of a question.

Chad sighed along with the whole team.

"Look," said Troy as he stepped towards his friend, "I really am sorry I forgot. I just got a lot on my mind right now."

It was true, ever since Chad told him about the suicide attempt of Gabriella Montez, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Sure he didn't know anything about her, and had only spoken exactly five words to her the whole three months she was there, but somehow, his thoughts never left her. He didn't know why he felt so guilty when they called her name out for attendance in fifth period only to be marked absent. He couldn't help but feel guilty when no one bothered asking, _'I wonder what happened to Gabriella Montez?'_. Unfortunately, some people seemed to notice how distracted he really was. Even at practice his dad thought his game seemed a little off. But he just thought that maybe his son was excited about the winter break that was coming up. This might have been true for the other team members, but not for him.

"Look captain," said Jason as he walked up next to Chad, "I know you're excited that winter break is coming up, and I would be too! I-mean, how many parents do you know that would leave their only son alone, in a house, with food, and possibly beer, for two _whole_ weeks? Can you say _par-tay_?"

Troy let a chuckle escape from his lips. Not only did Jason manage to make a fool of himself once again, but he also didn't know the real reason why Troy's mind was elsewhere, which meant that no one else knew where his mind was.

"Yeah," piped in Zeke, "you can't let next week's excitement get the best of you. I-mean, no one can wait for the parties you're going to throw. I myself am driving myself crazy because I can't come up with a great brownie recipe."

"What my two friends here are trying to say is that you got to stay focused." said Chad, "You got to get'cha head in the game." (**A/N**: Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Lol!)

Troy, finally having enough of them, grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder, "You know what guys?" he asked, "You guys are right. I shouldn't let myself get too excited about all the fun I'll have when my parents are out of town. I'm sorry I lost myself for a second there. Are we cool?"

By this time, Troy was standing in front of Chad who looked up at his best friend and did their manly handshake.

"You bet." said Chad as the whole team started laughing.

"So," said Jason as Troy started walking towards the exit, "are we still on for tonight?"

Troy turned towards his team who were all staring at him. He gave them his famous Troy Bolton signature smirk.

"Fuck yea." was all he said before he headed out of the locker room.

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**So that was chapter 2! PLEASE review! Most of you guys know that I reply to them. They make me so happy, and when I'm so happy, it makes me want to write and get the next chapter up sooner.**


	4. Payback's a Bitch

**Hey guys! Im so sorry about the late update! I've been really busy lately and to make matters worse, something is wrong with my stupid computer! Its going super slow and it wont let me open any of my files which sucks because I already had this chapter typed. Luckly, I was finally able to upload it although it did take a really long time! Anyway...**

**Thanks again to** _liv3.in.lov3_ **and **_sort of forever._** for reviewing again, and a VERY special thanks to **_crazyinluv305_ **for actually revewing when I asked so nicely. So this chapter is dedicated to you guys!**

**WARNING: This chapter is really long. I wanted to cut it shorter but I didnt want to confuse anyone because I usually tend to jump from scene to scene and I realized that the two scenes I wanted to jump to and from,take place on two different days. So I just decided to write one long chapter. So, I hope you guys like it an I hope you guys review! But on the bright side, its ALL Troy-centric. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

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**Chapter 3**

Fuck.

That's the only thought that came to Troy's mind as he stood in the middle of the West High gym. He flashed his flashlight everywhere as he inspected all the damage. He and his teammates had done a number to it. There was toilet paper all over the bleachers and in the basketball hoops while red and white silly string was covering the floor. Jason and some of the other guys were spray painting the walls with vulgar pictures and sayings as Zeke was putting whip cream all over some basketballs that he found. The whole place was a mess.

The night had gone really good so far. The whole team met up at Chad's house at midnight, telling all their parents that there was a 'last day of school before winter break sleep over'. They went over their plan and put all their 'supplies' into their cars. From there they drove to the West High campus and broke into the gym. It surprised Troy how easy it was to break into the gym. It was as if God was on their side and had decided to let them in easily.

"What do you think captain?" asked Chad as he stood next to his best friend.

Troy turned towards Chad and smirked. "I think we did a great job." he said, "Those knights are never going to know what hit them."

Chad matched Troy's smirk and nodded his head as he looked at his teammates who were putting the finishing touches to the mural of a knight on one of the walls.

"Alright guys," he said, "let's go."

They all headed towards the exit and they were about to open the door to leave when suddenly the gym lights went on. The whole team turned around to see what looked like a West High janitor with two police officers. "Run!" someone yell. The whole team ran outside and scattered around trying to get to their cars.

Bad idea.

There were cops everywhere. People were running around trying to escape the cops as cars were starting drive away with some guys hanging on for dear life.

Troy stood there, on the steps leading to the entrance of the gym, for a moment just looking at what was going on. He couldn't believe he was so stupid. How could he not think they weren't going to get caught? Troy was literally frozen in place until he felt someone tugging on his arm.

"Troy c'mon man move!"

Troy looked at who it was pulling him and saw Chad's distressed face. He finally snapped out of his frozen state and started running behind Chad. They both ran around the corner and through a door that led inside the school.

"Shit, shit, shit!" yelled Chad, "What the fuck are we going to do? We can't get caught! If we do, our seasons over, not to mention we might get suspended, or worse _expelled_ and there goes our free pass to college! No scholarship, no college, no college parties, no hot college girls…oh God! Our lives are ruined!"

Troy sighed as he slammed his friend and held him up against a locker. "Chad!" he yelled, "Snap out of it! We're not gonna get caught!"

"We're not?" asked Chad as Troy held him tighter by his shirt.

"No!"

"Then what are we going to do?"

"I don't know, but you've got to calm down! You're the one that was pumped up about this plan, remember?"

"Yea, that was before I knew we were gonna get caught. Trust me, if I knew I was never gonna get the opportunity to date a hot college girl, then I would have never agreed to this."

Troy rolled his eyes as he let his friend go.

"C'mon," Troy said as he started walking down the hall, "maybe there's another way out."

Both guys walked down the dark hallway with nothing but a flashlight lighting the way.

They finally decided to walk into a classroom where there was an open window. Troy pointed at the window as Chad walked in the room.

"I'll go out first and make sure that the coast is clear. If it isn't, you're gonna have to find another way out." Troy said.

Chad nodded his head and watched as the captain slowly climbed out the window. Once Troy landed on the ground, he felt a smile form on his face. He was about to tell Chad that the coast was clear when he suddenly saw a flash light on him. He turned around and came face to face with three policemen.

Fuck.

* * *

"Troy, how can you be so STUPID?" yelled Jack Bolton.

He and his wife had just returned home from picking up his son at the police station at three o'clock in the morning. When they got home, they ordered Troy to sit on the couch where his parents were currently yelling at him.

"Dad, I said I was sorry." said Troy as he leaned back on the couch.

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it out for you today!"

He watched his father pace back and fourth in front while his mother sat in the couch in front of him.

"Troy," she said, "why would you do something like this?"

"I already told you guys. We were just getting them back for what they did to us. Remember when they completely trashed my car, and dad got so mad that he had to pay extra to get the paint off the windshields? We just wanted to get them back for that, and dad, even you said we should get even with them."

"Yes, but I meant on the court son! I never said to go trash their gym. The only way to get even with them is to put their money where their mouths are and kick their asses on the fucking basketball court!"

"Jack watch your language." said his wife.

"Well I'm _sorry_ Lucille, but when I get a phone call at 2 o'clock in the morning telling me that I got to pick up my son from the police station, I tend to yell and get angry!"

"Well your yelling isn't helping anyone!" yelled Lucille as she stood in front of her husband.

"Yeah? Well I could care less if my yelling helps anyone at this point! Because seriously, who else do you know that has to pick up their son from the police station when he's supposed to be at a SLEEPOVER?!"

"Daddy?" said a small voice coming from the stairs.

Everyone turned to look towards the stairs where the voice came from. They suddenly saw the youngest member of the Bolton family groggily walking down the steps in her pink Barbie pajamas and her brown teddy bear named Rosy in her hand.

"Emily, sweetheart," said Lucille as she walked over to the blonde six-year-old, "Did we wake you?"

Young Emily Bolton nodded her head as she wiped her eyes and walked towards her mom who wrapped her arms around her and picked her up.

"I heard daddy yelling and I woke up." said the young girl. "Rosy woke up too and started crying. I tried to calm her down but she said she was scared, so I told her I would make it stop."

"I'm sorry Em." said Jack as he looked at his daughter innocent eyes. "It's just that daddy gets angry sometimes and yells. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

Emily looked towards the couch and noticed her big brother sitting on the there with his head down.

"Is Troy in trouble?" she asked.

Troy suddenly looked up and me his sister's blue eye's. He didn't know why, but for some reason, in that moment that he saw her, his thoughts went back to Gabriella. Her eyes seemed so innocent and shy that day he asked her for a pencil. He wondered how they looked now, blank, cold, hard, dead. He didn't know, and he figured he would never know. All he knew was that if the thought of suicide came into the innocent mind of someone like Gabriella, would it also enter the mind of someone as young and as innocent as Emily?

"Yes," Jacks voice snapped Troy's mind back to reality, "he is."

"Why?" asked Emily.

"Because he did something very bad, and now he's going to be punished for it."

"Does that mean he can't take me ice skating next week when you and mommy are gone?"

Lucille sighed and looked at her daughter, "Emily sweetie, why don't you go back to bed? I'll go up there in a minute and tuck you back in."

The young girl nodded her head and got down from her mothers arms. She ran over to her dad and hugged him, "Goodnight daddy." she said.

"Good night sweetheart." he said as he bent down to give her a kiss on her forehead.

She then ran over to Troy and gave him a hug, "Goodnight Troy." she said.

Troy wrapped his arms around his little sister and smiled, "Goodnight Em."

She then smiled at him and ran back up the stairs towards her room.

Jack sighed. "Troy," he said after a while of silence, "I'm sorry I yelled at you like that. I'm just trying to get you to understand how stupid you acted tonight. You're lucky that they're not pressing any criminal charges."

"I know dad," said Troy as he looked up and met his father's eyes, "I'm sorry."

It was Lucille's turn to sigh, "Maybe…maybe we shouldn't go to Colorado next week."

"What?" asked Troy, "Mom, no…you can't."

"Why not?" she asked. "You act completely irresponsible now, what makes us think you're not going to act irresponsible when we're gone?"

"Look mom," said Troy as he stood up to face her, "I know I fucked up tonight,"

"Language Troy." his father interrupted him.

"Sorry," he said, "I-mean, I know I _messed_ up tonight, but you shouldn't let my stupid mistakes ruin your vacation plans. I know you guys have been saving up for it since the last winter and I feel bad to make you guys just let it go to waist."

Lucille heaved another sigh and looked towards her husband.

"You know Lucy," said Jack, "he has a point. We did pay for it already and you know how hard it is to get a full refund on two plane tickets on such short notice? It's just going to be for two weeks. I'm sure Troy can handle it."

"But what about Emily? I don't want to leave her hear if Troy is going to pull something like this again."

"I won't mom. I promise that nothing will happen to her."

"I don't know." she sighed.

"C'mon mom, please?" said Troy as he knelt down on his knees and pouted his lips.

"Yes mom, please?" said Jack as he imitated his son.

"Jack, you were the one who was yelling five minutes ago."

"I know, but think about it honey. This was supposed to be our second honeymoon. Do you really want to lose the chance to go be alone, not to mention the fact that full refunds might not even be an option?"

Lucille looked at the two most important men in her life and gave a small smile, _'Like father, like son.'_ she thought.

"Fine," she said as both men gave a sigh of relief, "but hear this Troy." she continued as she stood in front of her son, "If you mess up one more time and if one hair on Emily's head is harmed, you are grounded until further until graduation. You got that?"

Troy gave his mom a grin, "Yes mom. I got it."

* * *

Troy slowly crept into the pink room. Toys were scattered everywhere making it hard for him to sneak up on the sleeping figure in the bed. He was just about to take another step forward when the sleeping figure suddenly sat up and gave a cheeky grin.

"Troy!" she exclaimed.

"Shhh," said Troy as he got closer to the young girl and sat down on her bed, "you don't want to wake mom and dad do you?"

The young girl widened her eyes and shook her head. Troy began to chuckle as he looked into his little sisters eye that clearly mirrored his own. Her soft blonde curls dangled down her shoulders and seemed to shine in the moonlight coming from the window. To Troy, it seemed like she glowed. Her angelic face was squirming with laughter as he did nothing but stare at her. It was a game they always played. They stared at each other to see who could laugh first. Troy would technically always be the winner, but for some reason, he always found it in his heart to let her win even though she would always squirm in her seat. Seeing that she wouldn't be able to contain her laughter anymore, he let out a small chuckle and officially declared her as the winner.

"Yay!" she silently exclaimed, "I win again!"

"Yes, you win again. But just wait and see, one day I'm going to be the winner."

"I don't think so." she said through fits of giggles.

Troy offered her another smile, "I'm sorry I wasn't here to tuck you in tonight."

Emily's face suddenly turned sad as she looked at her big brother, "I told daddy that I couldn't go to sleep unless you scared away all the monsters from under my bed and my closet. But he told me that you went to Chad's house and that he would scare the monsters away."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that Em. Did he scare them away?"

"He said he did, but I still think there's one under my bed, and Rosy said she heard one in the closet."

"She did, did she?" asked Troy as he stood up and knelt down on the floor.

He lifted up the bed sheets to look under the bed, "Nope," he said, "no monsters down here. I guess dad really did scare them."

He then stood up and walked towards the closet. He opened the door and stuck his head in, "Nope, no one in here."

He was about to close the door when he suddenly opened the door again, "Wait a minute," he said, "Dad missed one."

He turned back towards his sister who had a scared look on her face, "This will just take a minute." He then stepped in the closet and slightly banged on the walls.

"Take this you ugly monster!" Emily heard her brother yell. Suddenly, the banging stopped as she heard Troy gasp for breath, "E-E-Emily," he said as if he was out of breath, "I n-need help!"

Emily quickly jumped out of bed and ran towards the closet; she opened the door and saw her brother sitting against the wall, reaching for her, "H-Help me! The monster's trying to get me! H-Help!"

"How Troy?" she gasped.

"All you have to d-do is say _'Troy is the best brother in the whole world' _and he'll go away forever."

The young girl quickly nodded her head and said, "Troy is the best brother in the whole world!"

Troy suddenly stopped moving and hung his head down. Emily's eyes widened with fright as she walked towards her brother. "T-Troy?" she said in a small voice, "Are you alive?"

Troy suddenly inhaled a deep breath and looked up at his sister. "Emily! You saved me!"

The young girl smiled as her brother picked her up by the waist and ran around the room. Emily started to giggle as he pretended to make her fly in the air before he finally placed her on her bed.

"There," he said, "no more monsters in your room."

"Thank you for making them go away."

"Don't worry about it. I promise you that as long as I'm here, nothing will ever hurt you, ok?"

Emily smiled as he pulled the covers up to her shoulders and tucked her in. "Did you brush your teeth?"

Emily nodded hear head.

"Let me smell."

Emily suddenly blew a gust of fresh minty breath that reached Troy nostrils.

"Ah, Delicious." he said as he gave her another smile and kissed her on the forehead, "Now go to sleep." He stood up and began to walk towards the door.

"Troy?" he heard Emily say. He turned around and looked at her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Are you still going to take me ice skating next week?" she asked.

Troy let out a chuckle, "Yes, Emily. I promise I will."

She smiled at him again as he turned to leave but was once again distracted when he heard Emily call him again.

"What?" he asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"You forgot to give Rosy a kiss too."

Troy laughed quietly as he walked towards the bed, bent down, and gave the teddy bear a kiss on the forehead.

"There," he said, "now will you go to sleep?"

Emily nodded her head as he walked back towards the door.

"Troy?" he heard her say just before he was going to close the door.

"What is it now?" he asked a bit bothered.

"I love you."

Troy smiled as he looked at the lying figure on the bed.

"I love you too." he said as he shut the door.

* * *

**So this is chapter 3.**

**Sadly I dont think I'm going to be able to update until Sunday or Monday. I'm really busy this whole week because I have so many exams and I still have to find time to study for my SAT's which I'm taking on Saturday. So yea, Im sorry about that. And since my computer is literally acting retarded, I'm going to have to type everything up on my parent's computer and that might take some time. So yea, I'm sorry again but that deosnt mean that you guys shouldnt REVIEW! **

**Please, I still have 14 alerts for this story and yet I only seem to get 2 or 3 reviews per chapter. So please, I'm not asking for much but it gets really discouraging when people don't review my story because it makes me think that no one likes it. I HONESTLY dont like showing my friends the stuff I write, not even one of my best friends know's that I write! So for me to put it up here for the whole world to read is really hard for me to do and its even harder when people dont review and tell me their opinion. So please REVIEW my story! As long as I get more than 3, then I'll be fine. PLease?I'm not asking for much! Thanks again.**


	5. Juvenile Delinquent

**Hey guys! I'm glad everyone finally started reviewing my story. Thank you to everyone who listened to me and finally reveiwed! As a special treat, I typed up an extra long chapter.**

**Also, I want to give a very special thank you to **_XOTroyellaOX_ **for the amazing advise. So, this chapter is dedicated to you!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Two Days Later…**

"It's a nice day today isn't it?"

_Nothing._

"They say it's going to be the hottest day of the week…well, if you think 68 degrees is hot then it's your kind of day."

_Silence._

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

_More nothing._

"I heard that you like to read. I could bring you some books if you want."

_The silence continues._

Jaime Sullivan gave a long sigh as she looked at the fragile girl in front of her. It was now Monday, two days after that frightful night when Gabriella Montez had decided to end her life. However, much to her dismay, her suicide attempt had failed.

Now, at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, Dr. Sullivan was desperately trying to get the young girl to talk or to at least get her to look at something other than the blue-green tiled wall. However, to no avail, the young girl had done nothing but sleep and keep her eyes on the wall. Nothing Dr. Sullivan said or did could make the girl take her eyes off that wall.

Dr. Sullivan gave another sigh as she looked towards the glass wall which allowed people to see inside the room from the other side of the wall (**AN:** It's like that wall where people chose a person out of a line up). She tucked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear and looked down at her watch.

"Our time's up." She said as she looked at the girl in front of her.

"I'll swing by later to see how your doing. Maybe I can even convince Dr. Benton to let me take you to the park. Would you like that?"

The silence still lingered in the room as Jaime let out yet another sigh before she slowly stood up and walked out the room with her clipboard in her hand and walked next door. She looked towards the glass wall where she can clearly see the young girl still looking at the wall, not moving an inch.

"I don't understand." said a voice in the room.

Dr. Sullivan turned towards a young man her age with dark brown hair and black rimmed glasses. She gave a small smile as she put the clipboard on the table in front of her and tied her hair up.

"Most suicide attempts would usually be cracking right now, asking us to give them the drugs and to let them die. Why hasn't she cracked yet?"

"I don't know." She said while she walked towards a chair and sat down. "Maybe she's still in shock."

"I don't think so." Said the man as he grabbed another chair and slid it next to hers.

Robert or "Bobby" Drake had always been a good friend of Jaime. They've been the best of friends ever since they could remember. They went to high school together and even went to med school together. Although Bobby had decided to practice medicine in New York, he was always available to lend a helping hand every time she would have trouble with a patient. To say that Bobby Drake was responsible for making Jaime Sullivan a successful doctor before the age of thirty was an understatement.

"Maybe she's just having a reaction to the medication you guys gave her when she first came here." He said.

"I tried looking through her medical records last night, but nothing makes sense." She said as she grabbed her clipboard from the table and started to look through her notes.

"Nothing here indicates there was ever anything wrong with her. Her file's clean, almost as if she's never been sick a day in her life."

"That's weird." He replied. He took the clipboard from his friend's hand and looked through.

"Hmm…" he said after a while of reading everything, "I might know why."

"What did you find?"

"These records are only from hospitals in the Albuquerque area, maybe even from all of New Mexico. You said she was a foster child right?"

Jaime slowly nodded her head, "Yea, well, at least that's what Dr. Benton said."

"Maybe you should ask Social Services for her records. I'm sure they'll give you something. Or maybe her foster mom knows something. I'm pretty sure they had to give her information about her medical history when she took Gabriella in."

"I'm not too sure about her foster mom."

"Why's that?"

"She dropped off all of Gabriella's stuff last night. She said she just couldn't have a 'crazy' person living with her anymore. There were nothing related to medical records there, just…just…" Jaime suddenly stopped as a sudden realization came to her.

"Just what?" asked Bobby with concern written on his face as his best friend suddenly stood up and started to look through the manila folder on her clipboard.

Jaime lips suddenly curved upward as she took out a neatly folded blue colored piece of paper, "Just a birth certificate."

Bobby smiled and stood up to look at the paper in his friend's hands, "I bet if we put her birth information in the system we could find anything we want to know about her."

Jaime nodded her head as she suddenly heard someone walk into the room. They both looked over and noticed Alice, the clerk at the front counter, step into the room.

"Excuse me Dr. Sullivan?" she asked.

"What is it Alice?"

"Dr. Benton wanted me to remind you that you would be supervising the custodial worker. He said he spoke to you about it yesterday."

Dr. Sullivan let out a sigh. She had completely forgotten about the 'delinquent' she would have to supervise until the end of his probation.

"I almost forgot about that." She said.

"He's waiting for you in your office."

Jaime nodded her head, "Ok, I'll be there in a moment."

Alice nodded her head as smile suddenly found her lips when she noticed the young man for the first time, "Bobby? I didn't know you were here. When did you arrive?" she asked as she went to hug the man.

"Last night." He said as he returned the hug.

"Let me guess, you're here to help Dr. Sullivan again?"

Bobby flashed a smile, "Of course. Everyone knows Jaime here can't function without me."

"Hey!" said Jaime as she playfully punched him in the arm.

"Ouch! That hurt."

Jaime just rolled her eyes, as the three adults started to laugh.

"Oh!" exclaimed Jaime as she remembered about the piece of paper in her hands, "That reminds me, Alice can you please do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I was wondering if you would type the information on this birth certificate into the system."

"Sure, I'll get right on it." said Alice as took the paper in her hands. She quickly looked over its contents before she turned towards the glass wall.

"How's she doing?" she asked as she saw the sickly girl stare at the wall.

"Not to good." said Bobby, sitting down on his chair again.

"The poor thing." said Alice as she gently shook her head and sighed.

"Yea," sighed Jaime, "that's why you need to type her name into the system, to see if we can find out anything about her."

"I'll get right on it." She said as she was going to walk out the door, but not before she quickly turned back around, "Don't forget about the boy."

"Oh, goody!" said Jaime sarcastically.

Alice just rolled her eyes before she walked out of the room.

* * *

Troy sat in an office ready to poke his eyes out from boredom. He'd been sitting there for the past thirty minutes waiting for some doctor to 'lay down the law' for him. He still couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He just had to go and listen to Chad! He didn't think it was fair that although the whole team was there, vandalizing the Knight's gym, he and two other juniors were the only one's that got caught. Chad stayed inside the building and hid in a janitor's closet until Saturday morning. Lucky for the team, Mr. Matsui did not cancel their season but instead made the whole team clean the West High gym and gave them each detention for the next three months. Not only that, but Troy's parents had grounded him until the end of the school year, and his grandma agreed to check in on him and Emily everyday. His three weeks of no school and no parents had officially gone down the drain.

As Troy sat there he remembered his court trial the day before and how they had sentenced him to 500 hours of community service. He remembered how shocked he was when he learned he was being forced to serve as a janitor at the local hospital.

"_What did you think you'd be doing? Brain surgery?"_

He still heard the mocking voice of the head of the custodial department in the hospital laughing at him in his head.

"_So, where exactly am I supposed be at?"_

"_The twelfth floor."_

"_What's that, like pediatrics?" asked Troy with a hopeful look._

"_Nope, the psychiatric ward."_

"_Psychiatric? You mean like crazy people?"_

"_Don't get too close, they might bite."_

Troy suddenly felt his phone vibrate and checked to see the caller ID. The word _Dad _flashed on the screen. He flipped his phone opened.

"Hey dad." He said.

"Hey Troy, I'm just calling to let you know that you're mom and I are on our way to the airport. Grandma will check in on you and Emily's with the neighbors."

"Ok dad."

"Remember, if we get one phone call from grandma about you during our trip, we're coming straight home. Ok?"

"I know dad."

"And if something happens to Emily…"

"I know," Troy cut him off, "don't worry about it dad. I told you, Chad's sleeping over most of vacation so we'll both be there."

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?"

"Dad, just trust me will you?"

"I don't know about that son."

Troy sighed.

"Dad please just trusts me. I promise nothing will happen."

He heard hi dad sigh on the other end of the line, "Ok son, and don't forget to tie Emily's shoes tight enough when you decide to take her ice skating."

"I won't."

"Ok then. Goodbye Troy. I love you."

"I love you too dad. Tell mom I'll miss her and that I love her."

"I will. And remember," said his dad before he hung up, "One screw up, and we're done being the nice parents."

"Ok, bye dad."

"Bye son."

Troy hung up his phone before he heard a cough coming from the doorway.

"Rule one," said a beautiful blonde with a clipboard in her hand, "No cell phones. It interferes with the machines."

She walked into the room and sat behind her desk.

"Are you Dr. Sullivan?" asked Troy a bit confused. For some reason, he thought Dr. Sullivan was an old guy with grey thin hair and wrinkles all over his face.

"Yup, and you must be the juvenile delinquent I'm in charge of. Troy is it?"

Troy nodded his head.

"Ok, so here's the deal, you'll work from eight to two on weekdays and seven to three on weekends. No cell phones, no eating or sleeping on the job, don't speak unless spoken too, and absolutely no friends visiting. We don't need anymore delinquents running around here. Understand?"

Troy nodded his head. She then took out a neatly folded grey janitor uniform from her desk drawer and handed it to him.

"Oh, and one more thing." She said, "There is absolutely no need to for you to speak to any of the patients here. You just go in, give them fresh sheets, clean up after them and then you'll go on your way."

"Sure." He said. Truthfully, Troy didn't have befriending a crazy person in mind.

"Ok," she said she took out some papers and handed some to him, "Here's a map and some stuff that you got to fill out."

She handed them to him along with a pen.

"Sign here, and here, oh, and here."

"What's all this?" he asked as he signed his name on the lines she pointed to.

"Basically, you just agreed to be my bitch for the next two months."

"How fun." He said sarcastically.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Both Troy and Jaime looked towards the doorway and saw Alice standing with a paper in her hand.

"What is it Alice?"

"I need to speak to you, privately."

Jaime sighed in frustration. Didn't Alice know that she had to get Troy situated as fast as she can so she could get back to work?

"Can't this wait?"

Alice slowly shook her head, "It's about Gabriella."

At the mention of Gabriella's name, both Troy and Dr. Sullivan looked at Alice.

Jaime nodded her head, "Umm, Troy, I'll be right back. Just finish going through the paperwork."

Troy nodded his head as he watched Dr. Sullivan leave the room with the clerk he met out front.

Could it be? Could the girl whose suicide attempt he couldn't seem to take his mind of off be here in this hospital? Troy didn't know, but he was soon about to find out.

* * *

"What's going on Alice? What happened?" asked Jaime once she and Alice were out in the hallway.

"It's about the birth certificate you gave me."

"Oh, did you find anything?"

"That's what I need to speak to you about."

"What do you mean?"

Alice let out a load sigh, "I typed all the information into the database. There was only one Gabriella Montez that came out of some files from a New York hospital and she died twenty years ago."

"Y-You're kidding."

"I wish I was. I thought maybe it was a mistake, so I got a hold of a friend who works through Social Services."

"What did your friend say?"

"H-H-He…"

"What did he say?"

"He said there is no record of a Gabriella Montez ever existing."

* * *

**Dun, Dun, Dun...**

**REVIEW!**

**A/N: I'll try to get the next chapter up by Saturday. It depends if i have stuff to do.**

**Thanks again gor the reviews and PLEASE dont forget to do it again.**


	6. Brown Meets Blue

**Hey guys! Thank you SOOOO much for the reviews. I seriously didn't think I would get that much because I didn't even nag you guys. But I'm so happy I did. Thanks guys! **

**I was so happy with all the responses that I got for the last chapter. I'm so glad that everyone was in shock because that's the exact effect I wanted people to have because remember, this story will have MANY twists and turns along the way. **

**So now, everyone knows that the first twist is that Gabriella Montez doesn't exist. Hmm…I wonder what other things I have up my sleeve.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews! I want to thank everybody that reviewed especially **_angelbecca913_ **for putting a quote of my story as one of her favorites on her profile. Thanks a BUNCH and this chapter is dedicated to you!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"He said there is no record of a Gabriella Montez ever existing."

"What?!" exclaimed Dr. Sullivan, "It can't be. Are you sure?"

"Yes. He entered the information on the birth certificate four times and found nothing. The real Gabriella Montez died 20 years ago so as far as the government is concerned, Gabriella doesn't exist." said Alice.

Jaime suddenly exhaled a deep breath that she didn't even know she was holding in. Gabriella Montez, her patient, was now a non-existent suicidal Jane Doe. How can that be?

"Where's Dr. Benton?" she asked as she leant against the wall.

"He's in a meeting."

Jaime sighed and looked down at the floor.

"I have to tell him."

"Well you can't tell him right now. There's no telling what might happen if you just go in unannounced." said Alice as she handed the birth certificate to Dr. Sullivan.

Jaime nodded her head as she accepted the paper from Alice.

"Ok," sighed Jaime, "Do me a favor and try and ask your friend if he could find out anything about her. Somebody from Social Services has to know something. They wouldn't just put anyone into the system if they didn't exist."

"I don't know if he can."

"What do you mean you don't know if he can? I thought you said he worked for Social Services?"

"Technically I said he worked through them. I never said he worked for them."

"What do you mean?"

"H-He kind of hacked into the system. You see, he's not really a social worker, more like a janitor for a building _filled_ with social workers."

"You're kidding!"

"Sadly, no. Look, I'm sorry. If I didn't say before that he worked for them, he could get in really big trouble. Especially if you call them up and tell them that he helped you."

Jaime sighed again, "Ok, just…just try and get a hold of Gabriella's foster mom. Ask her who Gabriella's social worker was and try to get in contact with them."

Alice nodded her head before she walked away, leaving Jaime alone in the hallway.

How can this be happening? In all her years of working as a psychiatrist, Jaime Sullivan had never had a patient who she couldn't diagnose. Sure, there were some times when Bobby had to help her but in the end, she always had the solution to anyone's problem. How was she supposed to help a non-existent person who won't talk let alone look at her? All these thoughts were interrupted as she felt someone tap her on her shoulder. She let out a little yelp before she met Troy's eyes. She quickly exhaled a deep breath and touched her temple on her head with her fingers.

"Troy," she said, "didn't your mother ever teach you not to sneak up on people like that?"

"Well, yea. She also taught me not to vandalize school buildings, but look where that got me."

Jaime gave him a small smile while she stood up straight and walked back into her office.

"So," Troy said as he walked in after her, "what am I supposed to do now?"

Jaime looked up at the boy and noticed that he took the liberty to change into his janitor uniform while she was speaking to Alice outside.

"Now, you're supposed to be working. Go to the janitor's closet down the hall, get some fresh sheets and put them in every single room that's on this list." She said as she gave him a list of room numbers.

"Remember," she continued, "no speaking with any of the patients. Just go in, drop them off, and one of the nurses will change them. Also, I don't want to hear any complaints about you. I'm a doctor as well as your boss, _not_ a babysitter. One little complaint and I'll make sure your probation officer hears about it the minute it happens. Got that?"

"Yea." He said as he nodded his head. He turned to walk out the office, but stopped when he heard Dr. Sullivan say his name. He turned back towards his boss and met his blue eyes with her own.

"Troy, don't forget that everything you see and hear in this hospital is and stays confidential. If you ever hear anything about a patient, you ignore it and forget about it ok."

'_You mean if I hear anything about Gabriella?' _he thought as he nodded.

He had no idea why the suicidal girl was still on his mind. When he heard Gabriella's name come out of the lady from the front desk mouth, it was as if his heart suddenly stopped. He knew that Gabriella was obviously in the hospital after trying to kill herself but he never really thought that she could be there, on the twelfth floor, the mental ward. It was just a bit unexpected and completely caught him off gaurd. She's just a patient, he told himself over and over while he was putting on his uniform. He had tried to get closer to the door to see if he could hear anything that Dr. Sullivan and the Clerk lady were saying, but found that they were speaking way too low. When he figured he wouldn't be able to hear them, he began to wonder why he cared so much. Was it guilt for not paying attention to her? Yea, maybe that's what it was. Nobody likes being ignored. Hell, he sometimes got jealous when Emily got all the attention from his parents.

Maybe if someone would have just taken the time to actually get to know her, this would have never happened. She would have never been in the hospital and he would have never been forced to work here while on probation…ok…so maybe the second part wasn't true. Chad would have still talked him into vandalizing West High's gym and thus enabling him to work at the hospital while serving his probation, but at least she wouldn't be there locked up in a tiny cell with doctors constantly looking after her with needles and pills.

"Troy?" Dr. Sullivan's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Are we clear?"

"Crystal." he said as he tried to put his thoughts about Gabriella in the back of his head.

"Good, when you're done, tell Alice at the front desk and she'll let you know what to do next."

Troy nodded his head as he walked out of the office and headed for the janitors closet down the hall. He opened the door and flipped the light switch on. His eyes grew wide as he saw the wall full of fresh sheets. He suddenly looked down at the list of room numbers and sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Bobby?" asked Jaime as she knocked on the door belonging to the room next to Gabriella's…or as she was now known as Jane Doe.

Bobby, who was facing the wall, looked back to look at her. She could tell he was on his phone and waited patiently for him to get off. He turned back towards the wall and mumbled a few things before he shut his phone and turned back to look at her.

"Hey, sorry about that." He said, "I was just talking to my girlfriend back home."

"Right, Jessica was it?"

"Yea."

"How is she?"

"She's good, just wanted to know when I'll be getting back. I told her that you really needed my help and that I might be staying longer than expected."

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."

" Why? What happened? Did you find anything out?"

"Yea." She said as she slowly sat down on a chair that faced Gabriella's room, who she noticed still hadn't moved an inch.

"Why do you look like you're gonna faint?" asked Bobby as he sat down next to her.

"Well, I found out some pretty shocking stuff."

"Like what?"

"She doesn't exist."

"What do you mean she doesn't exist?"

"I mean that there's no record of her existing at all. The real Gabriella Montez died 20 years ago so according to the government she doesn't exist."

"You're kidding right?"

"I wish I was. But Alice contacted a few people and they confirmed everything I just told you."

"She still won't talk right?" he asked.

"No." she said as she looked at the girl in the other room. She suddenly looked at her friend before a small smile formed on her lips.

"What?" he asked.

"W-Why don't you go in there and try to talk to her?"

"Ha-ha, no."

"What? Why?"

"Because, me and freaky suicidal teenage girls don't mix."

"C'mon Bobby, please? She hasn't responded to me at all. Maybe if she sees someone new, she'll talk. I-mean I know that if the same woman was trying to get me to talk all the time, I would have definitely talked if I saw someone else other than her."

"The answer is no."

"Why not?"

"B-Because, she's your patient not mine. I'm just here to observe."

"Bobby, why are you being an asshole?"

"Look, I'm sorry. I just don't think it's a good idea for me to go in there, ok. I-mean if this is how she reacts with you, there's no telling how she might react if a _man_ tried to get her to talk."

"Bobby, I don't know why you're being so difficult? I've helped you so many times. For fuck's sake, I broke up with three of your girlfriends for you. Not one, not two, but three!"

"I know and I'm sorry but I just don't feel comfortable going in there. Look, we both know I'm not as strong as you when it comes to not cracking under pressure so if I go in there, I'll probably get fed up for not making her talk and just yell. Besides, I specialize in helping _adults_ not _teenagers_. I've never had to help a teenage girl before and I feel that if I will all those stupid high school memories of being laughed at by them will come back to haunt me."

Jaime sighed as her friend finished his sentence. She knew that high school wasn't very good to him, especially when it came to dating.

"Either way," he continued, "I don't think you're gonna need my help any longer."

"Why?"

He pointed towards the wall that gave them the view of Gabriella's room with his chin.

Needless to say, what they saw shocked them both.

* * *

'_Room 112'_ read Troy in his mind as he nervously scratched the back of his neck and sighed.

So far, in his 20 minutes of working in the hospital, he got hit in the head with a pillow by some freaky old lady; felt violated when some guy about 50 years old or so told him he had a nice ass, and almost got vomited on by a guy who looked like he hadn't eaten in months. To say that this was the worst day of his life was an understatement.

He sighed again as he grabbed some fresh sheets off the cart he had been pushing around. He looked through the small window on the door and nervously bit his lip. All he saw was a body with long and dark stringy hair facing the wall opposite the door. He took a deep breath before he knocked on the door twice and opened the door.

It was strange, the patient, who he guessed was a girl didn't turn towards him. She didn't even flinch or show any sign that she had actually heard him. He looked to the left of him and saw a tinted glass wall. Was she being watched?

'_Strange.'_ He thought.

None of the other rooms he went to had the glass wall. Maybe this girl was crazier than he thought. He walked towards a small table near the corner of the glass wall and set the sheets down. He turned towards the girl to see if she had finally reacted to his presence.

_Nothing._

He let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding in. He guessed he was expecting her to throw or yell something at him. Instead he got nothing.

He slowly began to cautiously take a few steps back just to make sure the girl wouldn't do anything. When he was sure she wasn't going to do anything, he breathed another sigh of relief and took another step back.

Big mistake.

He suddenly felt his butt make contact with the hard tile floor as a chair he tripped on tipped over with a loud bang. He cursed himself for being so clumsy before he suddenly looked up and inhaled a sharp breath.

To Troy, it seemed that time had stopped and wouldn't continue again until he looked away because in those few seconds it took for his dumbass to fall back on his butt, the unexpected happened.

Brown met Blue.

* * *

**Insert Dramatic Music Here**

**LOL!**

**So that was chapter 5. Sorry that it took longer than expected to update, but I've been really busy. I'll try to update by either Thursday or Friday or maybe earlier. I don't know, it all depends on my schoolwork. **

**Don't forget to REVIEW!**

**Pretty please with a cherry on top? **

**LOL!**

**REVIEW!**


	7. Bad Influence

**Hey guys!**

**I'm so sorry that I made you guys wait this long. I had so much stuff to do this weekend. I hope that this LONG chapter can make it up to you guys. Sorry if it's not that good but I have a good excuse. I was watching the season finale of Gossip Girl while I was typing this up, LOL!**

**Thank you so much for the awesome reviews. They're all great and make me smile. With that being said, I would like to dedicate this chapter to **_shadowbax_ **for making me laugh and to **_liv3.in.lov3_ **for hiring herself as my personal publicist, LOL! I also want to make a special shout out to the anonymous reviewer **_Anna._** Since I can't reply to your review, I would personally like to thank you here for reviewing my story!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing at all.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_Brown met Blue._

There were certain events and memories in Troy's life that stayed etched in his mind like a broken record. Take for example, the time his seven-year-old self scored his first basket with out the help of his dad. He remembered feeling so happy and so powerful that he ran inside his house, and dragged his dad away from the fridge to show him how he made his first basket. It was then that he realized that he wanted to be the best basketball player in all of Albuquerque…no…in the WHOLE world. Coincidently, ten year's later this same blue-eyed, sandy haired boy led the Wildcats to back-to-back championship victories.

However, although scoring his first basket and winning those back-to-back championships would forever be at the top of his list of favorite moments in his life, nothing can ever beat the most significant memory of all. The day Emily was born. Troy loved his little sister since the first time he saw her in an incubator with a tube in her nose to help her breath and wires or needles sticking to her small fragile body. His mom had had many complications during her pregnancy resulting in giving birth to Emily two months earlier than expected. He never knew it was possible for someone to be so tiny and so fragile. It was then that he vowed that he would never let anything bad happen to her. He promised her as well as himself that he would never let any harm come to her and that he would kill the bastards who dared to try.

However, much to Troy's amazement, both those memories were now being topped by the single look of a pale girl with dull and lifeless eyes. Yes, the first time Troy Bolton looked into the eyes of the Gabriella Montez, the suicidal girl from school, would forever go down in history as one of the most oddly magnificent times in Troy Bolton's life.

Troy could do nothing but look back at the girl who lent him a pencil in math class. He tried to remember what her eyes looked like then, but found that he could not. The shyness and innocence he swore he saw were now vanished and replaced with an eerie and empty look. However, he imagined that they were not as dead as they seemed now. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had a vision of a sparkling brown-eyed girl that was full of life and full of dreams. He imagined her walking down the halls of East High with grace and dignity accompanied with a confidence that would make Sharpay cringe. He imagined her laugh, he imagined her smile, and he imagined the feel of her soft curls. All this scared him though. How could he imagine these things about a girl who had no intention to live let alone someone he didn't even know? However, although imagining her laugh seemed scary in his mind, what scared him the most was his imagination of the warmth of her body pressed up against his own in his favorite spot in the whole world, the East High rooftop.

It took a few seconds before Troy finally remembered how to breathe. His eyes became watery and a bit blurry from not blinking for fear of loosing the sight of her eyes on his own. He let out a deep breath before he finally blinked his eyes and moved to sit up straight, never once leaving her eyesight.

"H-H-Hi." he said, somewhat above a whisper.

The young girl did nothing but stare back with an empty look in her eyes.

"Y-You're Gabriella M-Montez, aren't you?" he asked.

Why was he acting like such an idiot?! Why couldn't he just talk to her like a normal girl?

'_Because she's not,'_ he thought, _'she's Gabriella Montez.'_

As he answered his own question in his mind, he suddenly heard a quick scuffle of feet enter the room. He wished whoever came into the room never did, because once that person came into the room, the brown left the blue and went back to staring at the wall.

"What are you doing?" asked the voice.

He looked back to see who it was that ruined the small connection he had with Gabriella. Once he did, he wished he never had, for staring back at him were the intense eyes of Dr. Sullivan.

"I-I…"

"Save it." She said as she put a hand up to stop him from talking, "Get your stuff and go to my office."

"But…"

"Now!"

Troy reluctantly stood up walked out the room and went to her office. There, he met a man about Dr. Sullivan's age sitting down in her chair looking over some papers. He said his name was Bobby Drake and that he was a good friend of Dr. Sullivan.

"Good luck with her." He said, "Jaime can be quite the bitch sometimes."

"I heard that." He heard Dr. Sullivan say as she entered the room with a frustrated look on her face.

"Jaime, you know I was just playing around."

"Whatever." She said as Bobby stood from the chair and allowed Dr. Sullivan to sit in her own seat.

Troy exhaled a deep breath, "Look," he said, "I didn't do anything. I swear!"

"Troy…" sighed Dr. Sullivan.

"I didn't mean to fall and distract her from…from…her wall watching or whatever it is that you call it…"

"Troy…"

"Please don't call my dad, I didn't mean to do it. I can't help it if I'm an idiot. I think it's from hanging out with Chad too much. If you want, I'll stop acknowledging his existence …"

Jaime and Bobby both looked at each other with confused looks on their faces. Who the hell was Chad?

"…I'll stop acting like an idiot just please don't call my probation officer…"

"TROY!" yelled Dr. Sullivan, "Would you stop babbling and just shut up?!"

Troy sat stunned in his chair and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

"I'm not going to call your probation officer or your dad nor am I going to forbid you to see this Chad person."

"You're not?" Troy asked, "T-Then what am I doing here?"

Jaime sighed again and rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"Just don't let this happen again."

She suddenly went back to reading the papers on her desk, a clear sign that Troy was being dismissed. He suddenly stood up with a confused look on his face and quickly walked…no…ran out the door. He found that his cart with the fresh sheets was outside the office. He then began to push it towards the next room on his list all the while asking himself:

'_What the fuck was that about?'_

* * *

"Jaime," said Bobby as he sat in the now occupied chair in front of Jaime, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she sighed, "I guess I'm just shocked."

"Why?"

"Because!" she exclaimed, "I am one of the best doctors in Albuquerque. There is not one patient that I can't diagnose. I-mean sure, sometimes it takes a lot of time, but I usually can't get them to shut up after 24 hours of them being admitted! And now this suicidal teenager, who by the way doesn't exist, won't look or speak to me. But low and behold this juvenile delinquent comes along and does nothing but fall on his ass and poof! She looks at him! What, do I have to fall on my ass to get her to look at me?!"

Jaime suddenly inhaled a deep breath before she met the eyes of her friend who had an amused look on his face.

"What?!"

"Jaime," he began, "are you jealous?"

"Why the fuck would I be jealous?!" she asked, quite taken aback.

"Oh, I don't know, because he actually accomplished what you have failed to do in the past two days?"

Jaime heaved a loud sigh…hmm…sigh…she seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Look Jaime," said Bobby, "you have to stop beating yourself up for it. I-mean look on the bright side, at least we know she's not deaf."

"Why do I have the feeling that you're enjoying this?"

"I'm not." He said while trying to keep a straight face, but failed miserably.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed.

"Jaime, I'm sorry." he said while smirking at her, "It's just that I can't believe you're getting so worked up about this. It's not the end of the world you know."

"It might be for her!"

"You don't know that!"

"Yes I do because I'm the only person that she has right now!"

Bobby gave a loud sigh, "Jaime, have you thought that maybe this could be a good thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe Troy falling on his ass isn't a bad thing."

"Well, I don't see how it is a good thing."

"You said before that you wanted someone else to talk to her. Well maybe that person is Troy. I-mean think about it. If it took him two seconds to get her to look at him, imagine how long it'll take him to get her to talk."

Jaime sat in her seat and let the words of her friend sink in. It was true. Troy had accomplished something that for once, she had failed to do. If he got her too look elsewhere, then maybe, just maybe he could get her to talk.

* * *

"Troy!" exclaimed an overly active Emily as her older brother strolled through the front door of their house. She quickly abandoned her coloring and her movie in the living room and ran over to him. Troy, seeing that she was about to jump into his arms, bent down, picked her up, and carried her towards the kitchen.

"Hey Em." He said after he gave her a soft kiss on her cheek, "How's my girl doing?"

He set her down on the island in the middle of the kitchen and walked towards the refrigerator.

"Bored! Chad's no fun. All he does is eat and sleep."

Troy rolled his eyes. Yup, that sounds like Chad.

"Did you have fun with Ashley today?"

"Yup! I had so much fun with her," she said referring to their neighbor who was the same age as Emily, "Her mom took us to the park and then she bought us ice cream!"

"Really? Ice cream before dinner?"

Emily looked down at the ground, "Please don't tell mommy. She's gonna get mad if you do."

Troy let out a small chuckle which caused Emily to look up at him, "Don't worry. I won't tell. But you better eat all of the food mom made for you, ok?"

Emily gave him a soft smile while she nodded her head in agreement.

"What did you do after?" asked Troy as he started to heat up some left over chicken his mom had left for them.

"After we went to the park, we went back to her house and we were playing with her Barbi dream house. She has a really big one, bigger than mine!" she exclaimed as she spread out her arms to show Troy how big the dollhouse was, "I was having so much fun. But then Chad came to pick me up and then I started coloring."

At the mention of his name, Chad groggily walked into the kitchen and stretched his arms.

"Do I smell food?" he asked.

Troy rolled his eyes as he took the chicken out of the microwave and began to get some clean plates. Chad looked towards his friend and gave him a lazy smile.

"Troy," he said, "when did you get here?"

"Nice of you to be paying attention to who's walking into the house." said Troy.

"Well, I'm _sorry_ but who would've thought that the Little Mermaid could put you to sleep?"

Troy once again rolled his eyes and continued to serve the food on the plates.

"Emily," he said, "its time for you to get cleaned up for dinner."

"Can I keep watching TV after?" she asked.

"Yes but only if you promise to pick up your things afterwards."

Emily gave him a warm smile before she jumped off the island and ran out the kitchen. Meanwhile, Chad sat down on one of the stools and let out a loud yawn.

"Your grandma called by the way." He said, "She just wanted to check up on you guys."

Troy nodded his head as he gave Chad his plate to eat.

"Thanks Chad," said Troy as he sat on the stool across from him, "thanks for picking up Emily and staying with her."

"Dude, you know that its no problem. I definitely owe you for covering for me last weekend."

"Yea, you're right, you do." said Troy as he let out a chuckle.

Chad rolled his eyes and began to scarf down his food, "You know, you'll thank me for this later."

"How exactly would I be thanking you for this?"

"That 'bad boy janitor' look is good for you. Girl's dig guys who get in trouble with the law."

Troy rolled his eyes at his friends comment.

"It's true," he continued, "show up like that at school and girls will be screaming your name more than they already do."

"Chad, I fail to see how wearing a janitor's uniform is gonna help me get laid."

Chad just shrugged his shoulders as he continued to eat, "You never know. Last month, Donnie Ritzer got caught stealing at the mall and was forced to clean highway 9. Some girls saw him and that same night he got laid like 5 times. I'm telling you, that uniform can do wonders for you."

Troy just chuckled while he shook his head.

"Your parents know your sleeping over right?" he asked.

Chad nodded his head, "Yup, and let me be the first to say they weren't too thrilled about it."

"Why's that?"

"They think you're a bad influence on me." He said as he scarfed down the rest of his food.

"Now, why would they think that?" said Troy with sarcasm in his voice.

"I don't know, something about you getting caught and making me choose between my family and you. But I told them that I'm gonna be the one to turn your life around. So then I basically fed them a whole mess of bullshit about how I'm obligated to help my best friend."

"If only they knew Chad." said Troy.

"If only they knew what?"

Troy sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, "Never mind."

Chad just shrugged his shoulders and started to pick food from Emily's plate.

Just then Emily ran into the room and sat on the stool next to Troy. She lightly slapped Chad's hand away from her plate as she started to eat.

"Did you wash your hands?" asked Troy.

Emily nodded her head and gave Chad a dirty look as he took a piece of chicken from her plate.

Troy just shook his head and leaned back on the stool. Today had been eventful for him. Not only had he been taunted and not to mention hit on by crazy people, but he also managed to find Gabriella Montez locked away in her cell like room. He never meant to disrupt her from her wall watching, but he can't say he wasn't glad that he did. She seemed lost and cold, not at all like the shy girl from school. In those few seconds that he was staring at the fragile girl, he found himself comparing her to Emily when she was a newborn. She was so small and fragile, almost as if she would break with a simple touch. He remembered that all he really wanted to do was go up to her and hug her. He felt the sudden need to protect her just like he felt the need to protect Emily.

Emily suddenly turned towards her brother and met his eyes. She gave him a big toothy grin as she swallowed some more chicken. In that instance, he swore he saw Gabriella's eyes in Emily's. His eyes widened with shock as he looked away from his sister and instead turned towards his friend who had managed to take some more of Emily's food. It was then that he realized that her eyes would now forever be engraved into mind and would haunt him wherever he went.

But maybe that was a good thing. He couldn't help but be drawn to her like a moth to a light bulb. Maybe Chad was right. Maybe he would thank him for this later.

…oh god…did he just say that?

* * *

**So thats chapter 6! I know that nothing really happened in this chapter. It's more of a filler but it does set up some of the plot. I hope the length can make up for it.**

**I'm going to try to update by Friday or Saturday but I'm not making any promises. Maybe your REVIEWS can convince me sooner...LOL!**

**Thanks for reading and PLEASE dont forget to REVIEW!**


	8. Don't Say A Word

Hey guys

**Hey guys!**

**Thanks for the wonderful reviews! I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter and I hope that this one can be just as good. **

**I want to dedicate this chapter to **_The Innocent Devil_ **for making me smile the most. Thanks A LOT!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

'_Papi!' yelled the ten-year-old girl as she jumped into the arms of her father._

'_Hey princess.' he said as he placed a kiss on her cheek._

_The man walked further into the cold one bedroom apartment and placed her on a small table. He then ran over to turn the furnace on while his young daughter looked at him with strong admiration in her eyes._

_She had lived with her father for as long as she could remember. Her mother died when she was only three years old, leaving her father to care for her himself. She did not remember much about her mother, but her father had said many times that there was a striking resemblance between the two._

_Everyday, her father would leave her at school and go to work. She was left to walk home and do her homework alone until he came back late. She didn't complain though. She knew that her father was a very busy man and she loved walking and wondering around in Central Park, located in one of the best cities in the world. She wasn't a lonely child. In fact, she had plenty of friends at school. Sometimes, one of her friends would walk with her and they would have fun and play games with each other like they did at lunch. Other times she would go over her friend's house for an hour or two after school and they would either do homework together or watch endless movies of princess' and knights in shining armor. She would then go home and wait for about an hour or two for her dad to come home. They would make dinner together and watch some television. When it was time for bed, they would both have a small race to see who could get ready the fastest. Of course, he would always let her win but she never complained. After their 'race', he would tuck her into bed and read to her one of her favorite bedtime stories. _

_However, the past few days hadn't been the same._

_Her father had come home later and more tired than usual. The day before, he had come home out of breath with dirt all over his face. When she asked him about it, he simply said that he had had a bad day at work._

_The young girl didn't exactly know what her father did. When people asked her what it was that he did, she would tell them that he was a police officer. After all, he had a gun, and only cops had guns…right?_

'_Cómo esta mi princesa?' he asked her while he tried to turn the furnace on._

'_Very cold.' she replied._

_She could faintly hear her father mutter some Spanish curses as he pounded on the furnace to get it to start working. Luckily, after a couple more pounds the furnace finally turned on. He stood up with a proud look on his face and turned to look towards his only daughter._

'_There,' he said, 'that should do the trick.'_

_He suddenly walked over towards the door where he had dropped the bag he had brought with him. He placed it on the table next to his daughter and opened it. He then pulled out a small, Hispanic looking rag doll. It had a yellow dress with colorful stars embodied on it and pig tails that were each tied with a yellow ribbon. It was the most beautiful doll she had ever seen. _

'_Do you like it?' he asked her._

_She quickly nodded her head as she reached out to grab it from him. However, she became confused when he took it out of her reach. She then looked up at him with wide, worried eyes._

'_Hold on mija,' he said, 'I will give her to you, but I have to do something first.'_

_She nodded her head as he put the doll face down on the table and took out a pocket knife that he always carried around with him. _

'_Papi, no!' she yelled as her father cut open the doll. Tears started to form in her eyes as the white stuffing sprang up from the doll._

_However, she quickly wiped her eyes as she saw him take out a small bag from his pocket. He studied the bag in his hands before he took out its contents. A small gasp escaped from her mouth as three small bright red rubies fell onto his rough palm. He quickly studied them before he put them back in the bag and put the bag in the doll. He then took out a needle with yellow thread attached to it and started to stitch the doll up. Once he was done, he gave the doll to his daughter who turned the doll around to look for the stitches. To her amazement, it was as if her father never opened the doll. The stitches he had made were very precise, making it seem as if he never tore it open._

_She looked up at her father and gave him a bright smile as she tightly hugged the doll._

'_Thank you Papi.' she said as she tilted her head up to give him a kiss on the cheek._

'_You're welcome mija.' he replied as he watched his daughter jump off the table._

_She was about to run to the phone to call her best friend Amanda to tell her about her new doll before her father stopped her. He turned her towards him as he knelt down to her eye level._

'_Before you go and tell the whole world about your new doll, you have to promise me something.' he said._

_She nodded her head as her father took the doll from her hands and held it in front of him, studying it closely._

'_This really is a beautiful doll.' he said before he looked at her and gave her a toothy grin, 'Promise me that you won't lose it. Take it everywhere you go and don't let it out of your sight.'_

_The young girl nodded her head as her father gave the doll back to her._

'_And please,' he continued as he put his hands on her shoulders, 'don't tell anyone about what you saw me do, alright? It will be our little secret that no one, not even Amanda, needs to know.'_

_The young girl nodded her head as she looked into her fathers dark and mysterious eyes._

'_Whatever you do mija…don't say a word.'_

* * *

It had been four days since Troy started working in the hospital.

It had been four days since he mad a fool of himself by falling on his ass.

It had been four days since brown met blue.

Consequently, Troy found himself longing for those deadly eyes more than anything in the world. He still didn't know why he felt this way, but he knew that if he didn't get rid of it, he would surely punch someone, preferably Chad.

The day after they 'met', Troy was looking forward to going into her room to sneak a glance towards the girl. However, he found that the very next day her room number had been removed from the list of rooms he had to deliver sheets to. This made Troy confused. Why would they take her room off the list? When he saw that the room was no longer on the list, he seriously contemplated sneaking in to see her. However, that thought quickly left his mind when he noticed that there was never a moment when she was not being watched.

Things at home were good so far. His grandma had dropped by two days before to check in on them and to drop off some more food, which Chad had eaten in less than 30 minutes. His parents had called everyday to check in on them as well. Troy suspected that the only reason they did this was to see if he had fucked up yet, but of course his dad reassured him that they did it because they're worried about him. Troy of course, was not convinced.

On his fourth day of working in the hospital, Troy was mopping the floor near the front desk when he noticed a woman about 40 years of age with light brown skin and long dark hair step out of the elevator. She carried a small package in her hands with the words _Fragile _written all over it as she walked over to the front desk and mumbled something to Alice. Alice then pointed down the corridor before the woman nodded her head and went in the direction Alice had directed her to.

That was strange. Visiting hours ended an hour ago.

About ten minutes later, Troy looked in the direction that the woman had gone as he picked up his mop and started making his way towards the custodial closet at the end of the hallway. As he passed Dr. Sullivan's office, he couldn't help but notice that the woman, who had walked out of the elevator some minutes ago, was in the room handing the package she brought with her to Dr. Sullivan.

Odd.

Patients were usually not allowed to receive _fragile_ things for fear that they may use it to do something regrettable. However, he brushed those thoughts aside as he continued on his way towards the closet. He left the mop leaning against the wall as he grabbed his cart with the fresh sheets and started to make his daily rounds.

* * *

"Dr. Sullivan?" asked a voice coming from the doorway.

Jaime suddenly looked up from her paperwork.

"Yes?" she asked as she saw a dark haired woman standing in the doorway.

"Hello, I'm Anna Gomez," said the woman as she walked into the room and offered Jaime her hand, "Gabriella's foster mom."

Jaime suddenly stood up and shook Anna's hand, "Hi," she said, "please, sit down."

Anna gave Dr. Sullivan a small smile as she sat in the seat in front of Jaime.

"Thank you so much for coming, "said Jaime, "I had my doubts as to whether you were going to come at all."

"I know," sighed Anna, "and I'm sorry about that. It's just that…this thing with Gabriella is really hard. I've had many kids come to live with me but never one like Gabriella. All of them were trouble makers or just troubled. But not Gabriella. She was very shy and innocent looking. She was also very intelligent, more than me. When she first got here, I thought that maybe she would be one to stay. My ex-husband and I got divorced about seven years ago and we were never able to have a child of our own. I think that's probably why I decided to take in kids. So, when she showed up at my doorstep I thought that maybe she could be the one stay and that she could possibly turn into my daughter."

Jaime nodded her head in an understanding way while Anna continued her story, "But then that night happened. S-She came home from school very flustered and very hurried, as if she was running from something. I asked her what was wrong but she just said that she had to go to the bathroom because she didn't have a chance to go at school, even though she usually stayed there about two hours after school let out. So, she just ran upstairs and I started making dinner. A few minutes later, she came downstairs again and started to shut every window and every curtain in the house. When I asked her why she was doing this, she said that it was better to just close them now because we would forget to do it later. Again I just simply shrugged and went back to cooking and she went back upstairs to freshen up for dinner. When everything was ready, I called her but I she never answered. I waited for a few more minutes but she never came down stairs. So I went upstairs to go get her. That's when I noticed the water coming from her door. I walked into her room, but she wasn't there. S-So, I-I-I looked towards the b-bathroom and I saw water seeping through the door. I-I went to open it and when I did, I-I couldn't believe m-m-my eyes."

By this time Ms. Gomez was sobbing. Jaime walked towards her and began to comfort the woman by putting her arm around her.

"I-I s-saw the empty b-bottle of pills and the c-cup s-shattered on the f-floor. T-There was b-blood d-dripping from the t-tub. T-That's when I saw h-her at the b-bottom of the t-tub with b-blood f-flowing out of h-her."

Jaime began to stroke Anna's hair, "Its ok Ms. Gomez." she said.

"I-I called the a-ambulance. I-I didn't know what else to do. I've never been so scared in my life. Seeing her in that emergency room sacred me so much. I started to blame myself. I started asking myself if it was my fault. Maybe if I just tried a little more or maybe if I was home more then she wouldn't have done this."

"You did the right thing Ms Gomez. Gabriella is fine now."

"H-How is she?"

Jaime sighed as she went to sit back in her chair.

"She's doing better than when she first came in, that's for sure. Do you want to see her?"

"I-I don't think that's a good idea. She probably hates me for leaving her. But I j-just can't do this."

"The only reason she would hate you is because you didn't let her die. You could've just left her in that tub, but you didn't."

"I know." whispered Ms Gomez, "I just can't do this. Please understand Dr. Sullivan that I'm not a bad person. I truly loved her as my own in that short time she lived with me. But, I don't think I could handle the depression and the suicide. It's just not my cup of tea."

She then looked down at her lap and grabbed the package that was resting there, "This is Gabriella's." she said as she handed it to Jaime, "I found it in her closet before I came."

Dr. Sullivan reached across her desk and grabbed it from the woman.

"I think its one of her most valuable possessions. When she first came she placed it right next to her bed and I would watch her play with it when she thought I wasn't looking. But then, for some reason she wrapped it in this box and put it away."

Jaime stared at the box before she began to unwrap it. She opened the box and took out the object hidden beneath crumbled pieces of paper. Jaime's eyes widened as she took out a round snow globe. In the snow globe, there was a miniature Statue of Liberty along with a mini empire state building, the MET, the Washington Memorial Arch, and various other famous buildings. At the base of the snow globe was a miniature version of the New York City subway that moved around the globe. Jaime suddenly found herself shaking the snow globe and watching as the snow fell over the New York City skyline with amazement.

"Ms. Gomez," she said as she finished watching the snow fall, "the reason I asked you to come was because we need information about the social worker that assigned Gabriella to you."

Anna nodded her head as she took out a small card from her purse and handed it to Jaime.

"This is his card." she said.

Jaime took the card from her and studied it.

_Matthew Kent_.

She would have to call this Kent guy right away.

"Dr. Sullivan?" she heard Anna say.

Jaime looked up at the woman.

"I-I wasn't going to say anything else. B-But, I think there's something you should know."

"What is it?"

"T-The night that Gabriella came to the hospital, s-some one broke into my house."

Jaime's eyes widened.

"I-I came home from the hospital and found that my door had been broken into. But, the odd thing was that they didn't take anything that belonged to me. Nothing I owned was touched. But then I went to Gabriella's room and it w-was completely destroyed. There were clothes everywhere and her stuff was on the floor. It was as if they were looking for something."

"Looking for what?"

"I-I don't know. I wasn't going to say anything b-because I-I got this phone call on my phone from an unknown number. The voice said that I couldn't say anything about what I saw and that I should just forget everything that happened. That's why I wouldn't come earlier. B-But then I found this and I just knew that I couldn't stay away any longer."

Jaime nodded her head as she looked at the clock and sighed.

"I'm sorry Ms. Gomez, but I really should get back to work."

Anna nodded her head as she stood up.

"Are you sure you don't want to see her?"

Anna quickly shook her head, "No." she said, "I think its best that I don't. Goodbye Dr. Sullivan and thank you for seeing me."

Dr. Sullivan rose to shake her hand. Ms. Gomez turned towards the door and started to walk out. However, she suddenly stopped and turned once again towards Jaime.

"Please doctor," she said, "Don't say a word about what I told you."

Dr. Sullivan slowly nodded her head as Anna walked out the door.

* * *

After almost an hour of dropping off sheets to 'crazy' people, Troy was rolling the cart back towards the closet when he noticed an open door that led to an empty conference room. He quickly looked around before he walked into the room and looked around. His eyes widened as he stared at a completely transparent wall that let him see into the next room. He walked closer to it and let a small smile form on his lips.

There, in the next room, staring at the wall was the girl whose eyes constantly occupied his mind.

This was his chance. If he ever wanted to see or speak to her again, he would have to sneak into her room now. He wouldn't have to worry about getting caught. Dr. Sullivan was talking to that lady and Dr. Drake was no where to be seen.

He quickly walked out of the room and went next door. He looked through the small window and saw that she hadn't moved at all. He slowly opened the door and snuck in.

This was it, he told himself. He was about to talk to her, the girl who had somehow captivated him with a cold, dead look of her eyes. He suddenly took a deep breath.

It was now or never.

**Sorry for the cliff hanger! PLease dont hate me! **

**I know nothing really happened here but its essential to the story. **

**Theres a pic of both the doll and the snow globe in my profile.**

**Please REVIEW!**


	9. The Three C's

**Hey guys!**

**I'm back with a new chapter. Sorry for the long wait. School's getting really hectic and with finals only two weeks away, I barely have time to do anything let alone have fun. I know my life sucks right now, but I won't bore you guys with the details.**

**Thank you guys for the reviews! I finally have 50 which I think it's awesome! But I have a favor to ask. I need at least 7 reviews for this chapter. Before you say anything, I just want to say that NO I'm not going to be one of those demanding authors (unless I get one review per chapter, then yea I'll probably complain seeing that this story is on 37 people alert list, LOL!) that wants a certain amount of reviews. I already said that I'm completely satisfied if I get more than 3 reviews. I just NEED 7 reviews for this chapter because the first 7 people that review will get to do something SPECIAL for me. I won't say what it is until then, but let's just say that you'll get a very special PRIZE. LOL!**

**With that being said, I would like to dedicate this chapter to **_hsmprincess_ **for the awesome review she left me! Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_It was now or never._

There were several things in life that Troy wanted to do. Once, when he was bored, he made two long lists. One was a list of things he wanted to do, and the other was a list of things he _really_ wanted to do. For example, one of the items on the list of things he wanted to do was to finally win a hot dog eating contest against Chad, which he doubts will happen anytime soon seeing as Chad eats like he's never seen food in his life. Another item on that list is to actually enjoy watching that one weird movie about squeaky clean high school kids singing and dancing on TV, with Emily (because seriously, _everyone_ knows high school is _nothing_ like that).

On his list of things that Troy _really_ wanted to do were more rebellious and down to earth things like getting a tattoo, go sky diving, go back-packing through Europe, and (much to the dismay of the whole female population at school) shaving his precious locks of sandy blonde hair off.

Troy was obsessed with trying to get everything completed on the list of things he _really_ wanted to do, which was why at this exact moment, Troy couldn't begin to fathom the thrill and exhilaration he was getting by just standing in the same room with the deadly Gabriella Montez. Sure, she hadn't seen him and sure she probably didn't hear him, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that Troy was finally going to get his chance to finally complete the first thing on his list of things her _really_ wanted to do.

He held his breath as he slowly started to make his way towards the girl who sat like a statue. He began to nervously scratch the back of his neck as he walked closer and closer to her. When he noticed that he was mere inches away from her, he stopped and shifted his weight from one leg to another.

'_Get it together Bolton!'_ he yelled to himself, _'She's just a freaky math suicidal girl who you can't seem to get off your mind.'_

He took another step forward as he silently let out a breath.

'_That's right, just breathe. What was that thing dad told us before the championship game last year? Oh yea, the three C's.'_

He took another step forward.

'_Always stay Calm, Cool, and Collected.'_

He took yet another step forward.

'_Calm, cool, and collected. Calm cool, and collected.'_

By this time, Troy turned his body so that he had a profile view of the sickly, yet somewhat beautiful girl in front of him. He stepped a little closer and inhaled another deep breath.

'_Calm, cool, and collected.'_

He couldn't take it anymore. He quickly let out the breath that he had been holding in.

_It was now or never._

"HI!" he suddenly yelled.

'_So much for being calm, cool, and collected.'_

He looked at the girl up and down and noticed that she hadn't moved an inch. He let out a sigh before slowly making his way towards her so that he could stand in front of her.

"I-I-mean hi." he said a little more softly, "D-Do you remember me?"

Nothing.

"I'm Troy, Troy Bolton. I go to your school."

More nothing.

"We have homeroom and math together. You let me borrow a pencil once…remember?"

"…"

'_This is gonna be harder than I thought.'_

* * *

"Bobby, have you seen Alice?" asked Jamie as she walked into the break room.

Bobby closed the _Sports Illustrated_ magazine he was reading and shook his head.

"No why?" he asked as he got up to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"I can't seem to find her anywhere and I need her to call up Gabriella's old social worker."

"You mean Jane Doe's social worker?"

Jaime rolled her eyes at her friend's comment, "Would please stop calling her that?"

"Why? Isn't that what you call unidentified people?"

"Yes, but social services gave her that name for a reason and until we find out that reason, we'll keep calling her Gabriella."

Bobby rolled his eyes as he sat down again with his cup of coffee in his hands, "Fine."

Jaime stifled a laugh as she sat down across from Bobby, "Where have you been anyway?"

"Here."

"The whole day?"

"Well…yea."

"Ugh! Bobby, you were supposed to be watching Gabriella!"

"I know but I needed a rest. Watching and waiting for someone to move can take a lot out of you."

Jaime shook her head and sat back against the soft couch.

"What about you?" he asked, "What have you been up to?"

"Gabriella's foster mom finally came today."

"Really?"

"Yea. I think she was more relieved to see me than I was to see her."

"Yea? And why's that?"

Jaime shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. She seemed worried and anxious, like she wanted to just go in and out as fast as possible. Like if she did it any faster then she could leave this whole thing behind her and finally move on."

"You call that being relieved to see you?"

"Well…she kind of told me some stuff. I think it took a lot of weight off of her shoulders."

"What kind of stuff?"

Jaime sighed as she looked down at her hands, "I-I can't tell you. I promised her I wouldn't."

"Oh, c'mon Jaime! I'm your best friend. You know you could tell me anything."

"I know but, I promised her I wouldn't say a word."

"Jaime, be reasonable. You promised a woman who abandoned the girl she voluntarily took in, all the while claiming that she loved her as her own?"

"Bobby, were you listening to our conversation?"

"Uh…no"

Jaime glared at her friend as he looked at everything else but at her. She clenched her hands into tiny balls and sat up straight, making it seem as if she would hit him in any moment. When he saw the deadly look in her eyes, he finally looked down at his hands and sighed.

"Ok," he said, "I might have heard just a little, but that's it. I swear!"

"Bobby!"

"I know, I know and I'm sorry! But I swear I didn't hear anything about what you don't want to tell me."

"What exactly did you hear?"

Bobby was about to speak when a very flustered looking Alice suddenly entered the room.

"Alice!' said Jaime as she stood up, "I've been looking all over for you! Where were you?"

"I was down on the third floor. Dr. Benton wanted me to pick up some stuff for him."

"Well, it's a good thing you're here now." Said Bobby, "Jaime was about to flip a shit on me."

Jaime rolled her eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Alice.

"I need you to get in contact with this man," she said as she handed her the social workers card.

"Matthew Kent?" asked Alice.

"He's Gabriella's social worker. Ms. Gomez finally came today and handed me this along with a snow globe."

"A snow globe?" asked Bobby.

"Yea, apparently it was one of Gabriella's most valuable possessions."

Bobby and Alice both nodded their heads.

"I'll get right on it." said Alice, just as she was bout to walk out the door.

"Speaking of getting right on it," said Bobby, "are you gonna tell us why you came running in here?"

Alice's eyes widened as she looked around the room.

"Have you guys seen Troy?"

"What do you mean, have we seen him?" asked Jaime.

"I umm…I seem to have misplaced him."

"How can you misplace our janitor?" asked Bobby with an amused look at his face.

"I don't know! I was watching him but then Dr. Benton wanted me to go down ASAP. So I figured me not watching him for a couple of minutes wouldn't do any harm. I-mean he hasn't been trouble at all so I figured what the hell!"

"Oh God!" said Jaime as she rubbed her temples, "I'm going to be _so_ dead when Dr. Benton finds out we just let a possibly dangerous juvenile delinquent run around free in a fucking hospital."

"Now, now, Jaime lets stay calm." said Bobby as he stood up and started to pace around the room, "If I were a juvenile delinquent who was forced to work in a hospital as a janitor and who constantly gets unwanted attention from all the patients, where would I be?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

As the three adults stood there silently pondering over where Troy could be, a sudden bang was heard in the room. All three looked towards the small sink and noticed that the small shelf above it had completely given away and its contents were now scattered around the sink as well as the floor.

_Bang._

Jaime looked back at the other two as a sudden realization came over her.

"Gabriella." She said as she quickly walked out of the room with the other two at her heels.

* * *

Troy took another deep breath as he stood there looking at the girl in front of him. It seemed as if he had been standing there for hours when in fact it was only mere seconds ago that he accidentally yelled out at her and made a complete ass of himself when he asked her if she remembered that one time she had so kindly lent him a pencil.

He let a small sigh escape his lips as he sat down on a chair that he assumed Dr. Sullivan used during one of their sessions.

"L-Look." He said softly, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your wall watching. But I…I just wanted to talk to you. You know, because that's what people do when they have a voice, although some voices should be less heard of like Sharpay's voice."

"…"

Gabriella did nothing but stare back at the wall. She gave no hint or indication that she knew he was sitting right in front of her which he had to admit saddened him a bit. Nevertheless, he didn't give up…not yet anyway.

"So…" continued Troy, "do you…like…cheese?"

'_Cheese?! Oh, real smooth Bolton.'_

"No? I'm not a big fan of cheese either. Nope, I'm a totally cheese-less person."

'_Where the fuck is all this coming from?!'_

"Speaking of cheese…do you like to watch cartoons?"

'_Fuck.'_

"I-I don't exactly know how cheese relates to cartoons…unless you talk about Spongebob because…umm…he's yellow…and cheese is yellow too…most of the time."

'_Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck!'_

"You know…like that stringy cheese is white and the spaghetti cheese is also white…not that I have a preference because…you know…I'm not a very cheesy guy…unless people tell me that I am then I'll stop but other than that I'm not cheesy at all. But, don't take my word for it; I heard cheese was good for you…or something like that."

'_Please just shoot me now!'_

Troy let out another sigh as he scratched the back of his neck again. He suddenly looked down at his uniform and stood up.

"D-Do you like my uniform?" he asked as he slowly spun around, "it makes me look kind of…umm…rebellious…don't you think?"

The girl didn't even blink.

'_Note to self: Never, ever hang out with Chad again.'_

He finally dropped his head and gave a loud sigh. Who was he kidding? She was obviously not interested. He looked down at her and then towards the door where a huge _Give Up_ sign flashed in his mind.

"Look," he said, "I'm sorry if I made a total ass of myself. I'll just let you go back to…whatever it is that you're doing."

He began to walk away from her with frustration and embarrassment written all over his face. How could he be so stupid? Of course she wouldn't pay any attention to him.

"You want what they want."

Troy suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

'_Could it be?'_

He slowly turned back around to face the girls back.

"W-What did you say?" he asked as he made his way to her, but suddenly stopped a foot or two away from her.

"You want what they want." the soft somewhat deadly voice said again.

Troy's eyes widened as she suddenly turned back to look at him. There they were again, those dead chocolate eyes that haunted Troy everywhere he went. He quickly took a deep breath as he walked a few inches closer to her, never once breaking eye contact.

"W-What who wants?" asked Troy.

She slowly turned her head to look at the transparent wall as if she were looking for something. He looked towards the wall and realized what she was talking about.

"N-No. They just want to make sure you're ok."

She looked back at him as he felt his breath get caught in his throat.

"L-Look," he began as he walked over to the wall and started knocking on it, "there's no one there right now."

Gabriella did nothing but shook her head, "You want what they want."

"What who wants?" he asked again.

She was about to open her mouth to speak again when they suddenly heard the door open with a loud bang against the wall. They both suddenly looked towards the door and saw a flustered and somewhat relieved looking Alice, an amused Dr. Drake, and a very angry and deadly looking Dr. Sullivan.

'_Shit.'_

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun…LOL!**

**So that's chapter 8. Hope you guys like it. **

**Please don't forget to review! Remember, the first 7 get a special prize!**


	10. Nothing's Gonna Change My World

**Hey guys!**

**Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed and congratulations to **_tashLOVE_, _-eFrOn-Iz-StUnNiN.X, karen0474, angelbecca913, .lov3,_**and**_ SassyBR_**for winning my little contest. Their prize will be revealed towards the end of the chapter. To show my appreciation, I dedicate this chapter to them! I also want to thank and dedicate this to **_daydreamer299_ **who was also one of the winners. Although you never responded to me, I would still like to personally thank you. **

**I'm so sorry that this chapter took longer than expected. I've had a very stressful week. With finals coming up, I hardly have time for anything. But luckily I have a rare chance to update now so I **_hope_** you guys like it. It's kind of long which I hope will make up for my absence. Please don't forget to REVIEW!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING!!**

**Chapter 9**

"Troy, I'm going to give you one minute to explain what the hell you were doing in there." said a very stern looking Dr. Sullivan as she stood in front of Troy with her hands on her hips.

Troy did nothing but sigh and look down at the floor. Everything was going so well. Sure, he may have made a complete idiot out of himself, and sure, he was probably going to have to answer to his probation officer or even worse, his dad. However, none of that mattered now. All that mattered was that she spoke to him.

Gabriella Montez…_the_ Gabriella Montez had finally spoken to no one other than him. Although a normal teen in trouble would probably be shitting in his pants right now at the thought of being sent to a juvenile detention center, Troy Bolton couldn't help but smile at the fact that she had spoken to him.

He remembered the deadly, somewhat sweet melodic voice. To him, it sounded like freshly picked honey that one would not be able to get enough of. It was a bit scratchy from all those days of not talking, but still sweet. He wanted to hear that voice again.

No.

He _needed_ to hear that voice again. However, he was disappointed when he heard people run through the door. Once Alice, Dr. Drake, and Dr. Sullivan found him in Gabriella's room, he noticed that the young girl quickly turned around and faced the wall once again as if nothing had happened. He then felt himself being dragged away by Dr. Sullivan and into the next room where he had been getting lectured for over 15 minutes before Dr. Sullivan had finally given him a chance to explain.

"Well?" she asked him, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Troy looked up at the woman with a smile plastered on his face, "She spoke to me."

This clearly caught Jaime by surprise as she looked over at the other adults who were still in the room.

"S-She spoke to you?" she asked in a much calmer voice.

"Yea." he said as he looked over at the transparent wall where he could clearly see Gabriella sitting, facing the wall. However, his smile was suddenly wiped off his face as a look of confusion replaced his smile.

The adults quickly noticed this and looked towards Gabriella's room.

"What the hell?" asked Alice as she turned towards the transparent wall as well.

Needless to say what they saw stunned them all. Gabriella, who had shown no sign of life since the moment Troy fell on his ass four days ago, was suddenly moving her right hand…well…more like her right index finger. She was making sharp swift movements with her finger as if she was writing something in the air while slightly mouthing words no human ear would ever hear.

"What is she doing?" asked Bobby as he started at the girl in the next room.

"I-I don't know." said Jaime as she turned to look at Troy.

Troy's eyes widened as he suddenly looked up at her.

"D-Don't look at me!" he said, "She was fine when I was in there."

"She was fine before _you_ went in there!" yelled Jaime.

"Ah-hem," Bobby cleared his throat before Jaime could yell at Troy even more.

Jamie looked at her friend, "What?"

"Jaime, can I talk to you outside? Please?"

Jaime sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked out the room with Bobby following closely behind her.

Once she was outside, she turned towards her friend.

"What?" she asked, "What the fuck is so important that you can't wait until after I tear him apart?"

Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Look," he began, "I know that this is hard for you to grasp, but I think its time that we test out our theory."

"What theory?"

"Remember what we talked about a couple days ago?"

Jaime tilted her head a bit as if to think about the question he asked her. When nothing came to her mind, she shook her head.

"Remember how I suggested that Troy might be an asset to helping us with Gabriella?"

Jaime's eyes suddenly widened as the memory replayed in her head. Yes, she indeed remembered that, but she never actually considered the fact that that theory would become a reality.

"I think that now's the time to test it out." continued Bobby as he looked through the small window on Gabriella's door, "I-mean, think about all the things Troy could get her to say in one day. Then we could finally diagnose her and help her."

"I thought that we decided she was psychotically depressed."

"No, _you_ decided she was psychotically depressed. I still think there's more to her than meets the eye."

Jaime sighed as she too looked through the window on Gabriella's door. She inhaled a quick breath as she noticed that Gabriella was no longer facing the wall. She was now lying on her back on the bed while still continuing to make the sudden swift movements with her finger.

"C'mon Jaime." whispered Bobby, "Give the boy a chance."

Jaime was about to speak when the sound of her pager started to go off. She reached into her white coat pocket and got her pager. It was from Dr. Benton. She let out a small groan as she walked away from the door towards her office with Bobby behind her.

"Jaime, you can't just ignore me like this." He said while they both stepped into her office.

She sat down at her desk as she picked up the phone and dialed Dr. Benton's number.

"Jaime," said Bobby before she held a finger up to him signaling him to be quiet.

"Hello Dr. Benton, its Jaime Sullivan." She said into the mouthpiece.

Bobby crossed his arms as he patiently waited for her to get off the phone.

"Yes," said Jaime, "I understand…no, it wont be a problem…you too…bye."

Jaime hung up the phone and looked up at Bobby.

"Dr. Benton's leaving to attend a conference in Florida early tomorrow morning and he wants me to be in charge while he's gone."

Bobby smirked as he sat in front of Jaime.

"What's this?" he asked as he grabbed a package sitting on her desk. He looked inside and took out the snow globe that he assumed was the one Jaime had mentioned back in the break room.

There was a sudden knock at the door. Both adults turned to see Troy standing in the doorway.

"Alice wanted me to let you guys know that she contacted that Matthew Kent guy and it turns out that he's in the area, so he'll be stopping by any minute now." he said.

Jaime nodded her head as she stood. She was about to speak when she was suddenly cut off by Troy.

"Dr. Sullivan," he began, "please don't be mad. I really am sorry about what I did. I said that I wouldn't talk or get involved with any of the patients and I went against my word. I completely understand if you want to call my probation officer or even worse, my dad. Just know that…I…I needed to talk to her. I don't know why but…ever since I saw her eyes…I just can't seem to get them out of my head. I…I want to help her. I_ need_ to help her."

Bobby looked between Troy and Jaime. He stood and handed Jaime the snow globe.

"You know what to do." He whispered as he left the office.

Jaime sighed and looked at the boy in front of her.

"L-Look Troy," she began in a soft voice, "I'm prepared to give you an offer which I hope you won't refuse."

Troy arched his eyebrow as confusion spread across his face.

"I'm willing to let you slip by and not call your probation officer or your father."

Troy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Was she serious?

"I'm willing to let this all slip, completely erase your record, and finish your hours earlier only if you agree to help us."

"W-What do you have in mind?" asked Troy as he nervously scratched his back.

"We want you to help us with Gabriella. Obviously, we haven't been able to get through to her. It seems like you're the only one she'll pay attention to around here."

"So, what exactly is it that you want me to do?"

Jaime walked around her desk and stood in front of him, "We want you to talk to her."

"Talk to her?"

Jaime nodded her head as she suddenly noticed that she still held on to the snow globe. She gently shook it and watched as the snowflakes gently fell over the entire city.

"B-But, why me?"

"Like I said, you're the only one she pays attention to. You're the only one who can actually get a reaction out of her. Why? I have no idea. But for some reason, she won't listen to any one but you. We just need you to talk to her and see if you can get her to open up. Maybe she'll let us in on some secrets about her past. So, what do you say?" she said as she gently spun the subway train around the base of the globe.

Troy looked at Dr. Sullivan to look for any sign that she could be bluffing. When he saw that she was giving him a truly genuine offer, his mind went into overdrive.

Not only would his record be completely erased, but he would be able to talk to Gabriella. He would actually be able to have real conversations with her and get to know the _real_ Gabriella. How could he possibly say no?

"If I help you…you can guarantee that my record will be clean and that I can finish these hours faster?"

Jaime once again nodded her head.

Troy gave her a grin, "Alright," he said, "I'll do it."

Troy slowly walked into Gabriella's room while she laid on the bed, never ceasing to move her index finger in the air. He turned towards the transparent wall and let out a deep breath as he stared at his own reflection. Although he could not see Dr. Sullivan or Dr. Drake, he knew they were there, watching and listening to everything that went on in the room.

Before he had entered the room, he was stripped of any sharp objects that could be harmful to Gabriella. Although, he did get a chance to check his watch before they took it away from him and made a mental note that it was barely noon, which meant he had two more hours until he could go home. However, it also meant that he had two hours with Gabriella. It meant two hours with the girl he could not get out of his mind. Once he realized this, the nervousness he felt earlier had suddenly returned.

What was he thinking? Why the hell did he agree to do this? How the hell was he supposed to do this without making an ass of himself? He scratched the back of his head as he though about what he was about to do.

"You know they can see you right?" he heard the deadly melodic voice ask.

Troy suddenly turned around and stared at the girl who was now sprawled all over the bed.

"What?" he said in a somewhat squeaky voice.

He quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

'_Cool, calm, and collected…yea, right.'_

"I…uh…I-mean, what?" he said in a voice somewhat deeper than his normal one.

"They can hear you too." she said as she stopped 'writing' in the air and looked towards him.

"Yea?" he asked as walked a little closer to her, their eyes never leaving each others.

"Yea. Those doctors think I must be some kind of dumb ass or something. They think I don't know."

She suddenly turned back to stare up at the ceiling. Troy tried not to let the disappointment show on his face when her eyes left his. He grabbed the chair he sat in earlier that day and sat next to her bed.

"You're right." he said, "They do think you don't know. But I for one happen to know that you are in fact not a dumb ass. You're easily the smartest person I know."

"But you _don't_ know me." she said as she arched her back as if to stretch.

Troy suddenly looked down at the floor, "N-No. But I would like to."

She suddenly stopped and turned to look at him. Their eyes met once again. This time, Troy wondered if she could feel the same thing he felt whenever they looked at each other, whenever brown met blue.

"You never seemed to care before." she said as she suddenly sat up, "You think I don't know who you are? Why, you're the infamous Troy Bolton. You walk around the whole school like you're the shit. You think everyone should bow down every time you breathe."

Troy suddenly looked away as he tried to hide the guilt on his face. Was he really that shallow?

"You think you're _so_ much better than everyone else." She continued in a small somewhat threatening voice, "Well guess what? Nobody gives a shit. Five, ten, maybe even twenty years from now, no one will care about you because they'll be moving on to the next best thing. Fuck, you'll be lucky enough if they even remember you."

She suddenly let out a small giggle as she stretched out her arms and laid back on the bed.

"So why the fuck would you suddenly want to know me? Why the fuck would you suddenly care? Unless, they offered you something"

Troy looked down at his hands, suddenly finding them more interesting than anything else in the room.

"That's it isn't it!?" she exclaimed as she suddenly sat up, "They offered you something and your trying to accept their offer by redeeming yourself."

"Redeeming myself?"

"Yea, by actually pretending like you want to get to know me."

She let out another giggle, "Oh, this is priceless."

A small smirk appeared on his lips, "Well I'll tell you one thing. You sure are the smartest girl I know."

She shrugged her shoulders and matched his smirk with her own, "What can I say? I can't go to twenty different schools and not expect to learn something."

Troy arched his eyebrow.

"Twenty different schools? That must be quite the experience."

She shrugged once more and fell back on the bed. She let out a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. She then began to hum softy before she suddenly began to sing,

"_Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,  
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe."_

Troy was suddenly left speechless as he heard her voice flow out like sweet and endless honey. He couldn't help but think that she had the voice of an angel. He looked down at her and was shocked to see her staring back.

"_Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind,  
Possessing and caressing me."_

She suddenly began to rub her hands sensually over her stomach as she arched her back, all the while never breaking eye contact. He found himself mesmerized by her voice as well as her eyes and couldn't help but stare at her frail body. Did she know what she was doing to him?

"_Jai Guru De Va Om  
Nothing's gonna change my world,  
Nothing's gonna change my world."_

She unexpectedly sat up again, "_Nothing's gonna change my world_…not even you Troy Bolton."

Jaime watched the scene between Troy and Gabriella intently while occasionally writing notes about what was being spoken and the movements that Gabriella made. The words Gabriella spoke seemed to surprise Jaime, for she never knew the young girl held that much anger and annoyance towards Troy or anybody for that matter. But then again, she never really heard the girl speak before.

There was a knock on the door just as Gabriella began to sing. Jaime looked towards the doorway as it opened and revealed Alice with a few papers in her hands.

"What is it Alice?" asked Jaime.

Alice looked towards the transparent wall and gave a small smile, "She has a beautiful voice."

Jaime nodded her head. Indeed, Gabriella did have a beautiful voice. Although it was scratchy and dry from all her days of not speaking to anyone, Jaime couldn't help but to think that Gabriella had a beautiful singing voice.

Alice then looked back at Jaime, the look of nervousness evident on her face.

"I-I have something for you."

Jaime nodded her head as she stood up and walked towards the wall where buttons for the intercom were at. She pushed the _off_ button and motioned for Alice to continue.

Alice placed the papers on the table as Gabriella's voice disappeared from the room.

"I know that I told you that Matthew Kent said he would come…but…it turns out that he had an appointment on the other side of town. So, he sent his assistant to come and drop these off."

"What is it?" she asked as she looked towards Troy and Gabriella to see if things were still going smoothly.

"It's something I think you should see."

"Should I be worried?" asked Jaime as she reached for the papers, "The last time you had something to show me, I found out that Gabriella doesn't exist."

She gave a small laugh as she started to look through them. However, her smile was quickly wiped off as confusion spread throughout her face.

"What's all of this?" she asked as she read over all the papers, "Alexandra, Natasha, Karen, Becca, Bailey-Marie, Alexia, Violet Bennings…w-who are all these people?"

"W-Well that's just it," said Alice as she turned towards Gabriella's room, "they're all the same person."

Jaime looked towards the same direction that Alice did. Gabriella was still lying on the bed as she once again moved her finger while Troy was talking to her. That was when it hit her.

"It can't be." She said as she walked closer to the wall.

"But it is." said Alice, "You are looking at Alexandra Natasha Karen Becca Bailey-Marie Alexia Violet Gabriella Montez."

**-Insert dramatic music here-**

**LOL!**

**FYI: The song Gabriella sings is called **_Across the Universe_ **and it's sung by **_The Beatles_**, one of the best bands ever! There's a link on my profile if you want to listen to the song.**

**Thanks once again to the winners. As some of you can probably tell, their names were used in my story. They helped me come up with the identities that will **_eventually_** unlock the secrets of Gabriella's past. **

**Please don't hate me because of the cliffy. I was originally going to cut it off when Troy agreed to help Jaime. But then I thought about how unfair it would have been to keep you guys guessing and also unfair to the winners after they were promised to be in the next chapter. **

**Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. I hope that this chapter can make it up to you. Please don't forget to REVIEW! **


	11. You Want What They Want

**Hola my good friends!**

**So, here's the next chapter to my intriguing/mysterious story. It took me FOREVER to write! It was really hard to concentrate over all the yelling considering that my whole family and the neighbors are currently watching the Laker/Celtics game. O-well, that's what happens when you live in LA and your team just so happened to be in the finals…LOL! I don't want to start talking about the game because I really could care less.**

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to **_XotroyellaoX_. **Her review made me smile a lot and she also kind of inspired/encouraged me to write this chapter and put it up sooner than I originally wanted to post it. Thank you very much for that. I also want to encourage all of you guys to go read her story **_Nobodies Child_**. It's an awesome one-shot that I think you guys as my readers will also enjoy. Trust me, if you like **_Don't Say a Word_** then you'll really like **_Nobodies Child_**.**

**Now please enjoy this SUPER long chapter. Seriously, I think it's the longest one yet.**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"_You are looking at Alexandra Natasha Karen Becca Bailey-Marie Alexia Violet Gabriella Montez."_

"I-I can't believe it…I don't believe it." said Jaime as she turned back towards Alice.

"But its true." said Alice.

Jaime sat down on the chair she occupied before and looked over each paper.

"Alexandra, age 14, Sacramento California…Natasha, age 15, Seattle Washington…Karen, age 15, Boston Massachusetts…Becca, age 16, Phoenix Arizona…Bailey-Marie, age 16, San Diego California…Alexia, age 16, El Paso Texas…Violet, age 17, New York City New York…Gabriella Montez, age 17, Albuquerque New Mexico…t-this can't be happening. I-I just can't believe it."

"You better believe it Jaime. Gabriella, or whoever she is, has had seven different identities. They're all from different cities, in different states. She was put in each place by social services."

"B-But why?" asked Jaime as she studied each paper carefully.

Alice shrugged her shoulders.

Jaime continued to read through the papers carefully. Her eyes widened as she read the medical records of each identity that Gabriella had had. Something was wrong. She could sense it. Every record in that folder was almost an exact replica as the one she had for the supposed Gabriella Montez. There were no indications that she had ever been sick in her life and no personal information.

"I bet if I type these into the system, nothing would come up." she said as Alice watched the two teens in the next room.

"I can do that now if you want." said Alice.

Jaime nodded her head as she handed the papers over to Alice. Alice took the papers from her and walked out the room.

How can this happen? How can this be? How can the attempted suicide of this seventeen-year-old girl be the one case that she just could not figure out?

This was _not_ supposed to happen. This is _not _supposed to happen. No, Jaime was supposed to sit down and talk to Gabriella, not Troy. She was supposed figure out what's wrong with her. But instead, she was discovering that Gabriella Montez had more than five identities while she was in one room and Troy and Gabriella were in the other.

She heaved a loud sigh as she looked towards Gabriella's room. Troy looked like he was trying to get her attention while Gabriella was hanging upside down over the side of her bed, never ceasing to stop her 'writing finger'.

"Gabriella Montez." whispered Jaime, "Who are you?"

* * *

**4 hours later…**

"…and then we played at the park and Ashley's mom took us shopping and she bought us each a princess coloring book!" exclaimed Emily as she sat on the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Troy had arrived home an hour ago after he finished his first session with Gabriella. Just as he had predicted, talking to Gabriella was like trying to drown a fish…impossible. To his disappointment, after she had finished her song, she quickly shut the whole world out and sprawled herself over her bed while moving around her finger. Troy had tried to talk to her countless times for the last two hours of his work day. He tried to ask her about the school year so far and about her plans for the future…or in her case…if she intended to have a future.

Once Dr. Sullivan had said time was up, he slowly stood up and said bye to Gabriella, who had ignored him the whole time. He then drove home and picked up Emily from his neighbors house since Chad had left him a message saying that something came up and he wouldn't be able to pick up Emily. They were both now in the kitchen where Troy was heating up some leftover pizza from the night before while listening to his sister tell him about her day.

"That was very nice of Ashley's mom. Did you thank her?"

Emily nodded her head as he took the heated pieces of pizza and place them on a plate.

"Then we were coloring and drawing all day until you came to pick me up. But I don't care. I like being here with you." she said while giving him the most innocent smile he had ever seen.

Troy returned the smile, "I like spending time with you too."

He gave her piece of pizza as she suddenly gasped.

"I almost forgot!" she exclaimed as she jumped off the island and ran out of the kitchen. She came back in less than a minute with a piece of paper behind her back.

"What do you have there?" he asked.

She quickly took the paper from behind her back and outstretched her arms towards Troy.

"I made this for you."

He gave her a genuine smile as he gladly accepted the paper. It was a picture which she had masterfully drawn. She had drawn a stick figure version of him and her outside in a yard full of flowers while they were flying what seemed to be a kite. Above the stick figures were arrows pointing down to each figure with the words _Troy_ and _Me_.

"Why thank you Emily." He said as he suddenly scooped her up in his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead.

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"I wonder who that could be?" asked Troy as he walked towards the front door while he carried her against his hip.

He opened the door and revealed Chad with crutches under his armpits and a cast on his right leg.

"Don't ask." Said Chad as Troy stood aside to let his best friend in.

"Dude, you know I'm still gonna ask."

Troy followed Chad into the kitchen where he sat down at the table and put his crutches aside.

"Troy, why does Chad have a rock on his leg?" asked Emily.

"I don't know. Why _does_ Chad have a rock on his leg?" asked Troy as he placed Emily on the island.

He looked over at his best friend who reached over and grabbed Troy's piece of pizza from the plate.

He crossed his arms and stood in front of Chad, waiting for an explanation. Chad looked up at his friend while he chewed.

"What?" he asked.

Troy rolled his eyes, "You know exactly what, so spill."

"I-It's kind of embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than the time Jason pantsed you in front of Darbus?"

Chad continued to eat the pizza as he thought about it.

He finally shook his head.

"No, but it's certainly close."

Chad gave a loud sigh as Troy leaned against the island.

"I spent the night at Taylor's house."

Troy arched his eyebrow, "Doing what?"

"Y-You know, w-we were just fucking around."

Troy gave Chad an amused look.

"Troy," said Emily, "what does fucking mean?"

Troy eyes widened as he turned towards Emily. He had completely forgotten that she was sitting on the island.

"Umm," he began, "I-It's a very, very bad word that you can never say, especially in front of mom and dad."

Emily nodded her head as Troy walked over to the table and picked up her plate before Chad could get to it.

"Here," he said, "why don't you take your pizza and eat it while watching T.V.?"

"But we're not allowed to eat in the living room."

"What mom and dad don't know won't hurt them. It'll be our little secret."

Emily nodded her head as she jumped off the island, took the pizza from troy and ran into the living room.

"Chad you idiot, watch your language in front of Emily!" he yelled once he heard Emily turn the T.V. on.

"I'm sorry." He said as he finished eating the crust, "Now as I was saying, I spent the night at Taylor's because we were…you know. Her parents were spending the night over at her grandparent's house so she called me over to see if I wanted to hang out. Then one thing led to another and next thing I know its eight in the morning and Taylor's hitting my head with a pillow yelling at me to get up. Turns out her parents were gonna show up earlier than expected and they called to say that they were five minutes away. So I jumped out of her bed and I tried to put my clothes on quickly. I didn't want to get caught because we all know what Colonel Mckessi would flip a shit if he saw me anywhere near her."

"Could you blame him? He caught you guys making out at the father-daughter dance."

"Why cant people just get over that?"

"He caught you guys in a janitor's closet with both your shirts off."

"Ok…I'll admit…not the smartest decision, but still. That doesn't mean he can send my parents all those brochures for boot camp in the middle of nowhere."

"Chad, he's a colonel in the army. He can do whatever the fuck he wants."

Chad rolled his eyes, "As I was saying, I was in a hurry to get out so I was trying to put my pants on while I was running down the stairs. Big mistake. I tripped over them and fell down the stairs. I guess I landed wrong because my leg started hurting me. Taylor said we didn't have any time so she practically dragged me out back. I literally had to crawl all the way home. I told my mom I fell off of my skateboard."

"Chad you don't _own_ a skateboard. You don't even _know_ how to skateboard."

"I know, but my mom was so worried about her 'baby' that she just rushed me the hospital. I thought about going up to see you, but my mom said it wasn't proper for me to associate with anarchists."

"Since when does she think I'm an anarchist?"

"Since you spent two hours in a jail cell."

Troy rolled his eyes.

"So now, I'm in this fucking cast until God knows when." he sighed, "There goes the rest of my vacation."

Troy shrugged his shoulders.

Not only did he feel bad that Chad broke his leg but he was somewhat relieved that Chad's mom did not let Chad visit him. If it were any other day, Troy would have been slightly pissed that his best friend didn't visit. But not today. Today was one of the most life changing days of his life.

Today, he spoke to Gabriella Montez, the person who constantly occupied his mind. He didn't know why though. He figured it was because he was still guilty. But something inside him told him otherwise.

* * *

**The next day…**

"So, what's your favorite color?"

"…"

"Let me guess, its yellow isn't it?"

"…"

"No? Is it because you don't like cheese?"

"…"

"Because remember, I don't like cheese either."

"…"

Troy gave a loud sigh. He had been trying to get Gabriella to talk for the last two hours. However, since he had walked into the room, she had seemed completely unfazed by his presence, which he had to admit made him a bit upset.

She was currently lying upside down on her bed while he sat in front of her. Her dead eyes stared at the wall behind him. Her long and dark stringy hair fell around her and touched the floor. Her chest, which he noticed were a fair size for a petite girl, were slowly moving up and down in a slow rhythm as she took small breaths. Her small, clammy hands tightly gripped her sheets as if to stop her self from falling headfirst on the tiled floor.

Although the sight of her would have been considered weird and disturbing, Troy couldn't help but think that she looked like the most beautiful girl in the world…oh God…did he just think that?

"What about your favorite movie?"

"…"

"Song?"

"…"

"Food?"

"…"

"Ice cream?"

"…"

"Anything?"

"…"

"Are you ever gonna say something instead of staring at the stupid wall behind me?"

"Are you ever gonna stop pretending that you actually care?"

The comment caught Troy off guard. He didn't expect her to respond since it almost felt like he was the only one in the room.

"Well, that's a start." he said as she slowly sat up.

"You didn't answer my question." she said as she stretched her arms above her head. She then stood up and walked towards the front of the bed where she stood with her legs apart. She bent down as if to stretch her thin legs.

"I-I do care." he said.

"You stuttered."

"What's your point?"

"If you did care, then you wouldn't have stuttered."

"Oh." said Troy quietly as he mentally cursed himself.

He watched her stretch her legs and then jump up and down a few times as if she was getting ready to go for a jog.

"Can I ask you what you're doing?"

"You just did."

Troy rolled his eyes, "So, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm stretching and warming up. I'm shocked you didn't know, aren't you like a basketball god or something like that?"

"I know that, but _why_ are you doing that?"

She suddenly stopped and turned towards him with a somewhat seductive smirk on her face, "Wouldn't you like to know."

She then bent over to stretch her legs again as small giggles left her mouth.

"You are unlike any other girl, you know that right?"

"Why? Because I tried to kill myself?"

Troy's eyes widened at her comment. He had never expected her to bring that up.

When she didn't hear him respond, she stood up from her stretching position and slowly walked over and stood in front of him.

"What?" she asked, "You've never stayed so quiet before."

She slowly got closer to him and gently passed her fingers over his golden locks of hair.

"Let me guess, you've never been this close to a crazy person before." she slowly bent down to his eye level moved her face closer to his, "Don't worry, I wont bite."

He felt the blood in his cheeks rise as her face got closer to his. Their eyes never left each others. He so desperately wanted to kiss her slightly chapped lips but decided against it. He forced himself to look away from her eyes and caught site of her deeply scared wrist. He gently reached for her wrist and touched the wounds that she had so desperately tried to kill herself with.

He felt her whole body tense up. He looked back at her eyes and noticed that the confidence she had seconds before was now gone and instead, he saw a scared and fragile young girl. She quickly pushed herself away from him and walked over to the wall behind him. She then touched the wall with her hands and as if she was savoring the cool feel of the tile. Although she tried to hide it, her body gently started shaking as she started to scratch at the wall in front of her.

"Why are you trying to torture me?" she said, barely above a whisper.

Troy's eyes widened at her comment. Why would she think he was torturing her?

"I'm not trying to torture you."

"Yes you are!" she said as she suddenly turned to face him once again. Her eyes had turned red and slightly puffy as tears cascaded down her pale cheeks.

"No I'm not."

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" she yelled.

Troy suddenly stood up, "No, Gabriella, I'm not trying to do anything to you. I want to help you." He said calmly.

"STOP TRYING TO MESS WITH MY MIND."

"Gabriella I'm not messing with you. I'm just trying to help you!"

"NO YOU 'RE NOT! YOU'RE TRYING TO GET INTO MY HEAD AND I WANT YOU TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!" she yelled as she pointed to her head.

"Why won't you let me in?!"

"Why?" she asked, her voice returning to its normal dead tone, "You wanna know why?"

Troy gently nodded his head.

She suddenly looked towards the transparent wall. Her vision was suddenly blurred as she walked closer to it. She suddenly looked back at him.

"Gabriella please…let me help you." He said in a gentle voice.

However, Gabriella shook her head as she pointed to the transparent wall, "YOU WANT WHAT THEY WANT!"

"Gabriella who is they?"

"YOU WANT WHAT THEY WANT!"

"Gabriella, I want to help you, please let me help you."

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!" she yelled as she completely collapsed on the floor.

He suddenly ran over to her in an attempt to help her. However, she started to back away until she backed into the corner of the room. She quickly hugged her legs tightly to her chest as she gently started to rock herself.

There was a sudden knock on the door, which was the signal for Troy to get out. He slowly walked towards the door and saw Dr. Sullivan's eyes telling him to leave the room. He let out a loud sigh as he looked back at the broken girl in the corner.

"I-I'm gonna help you Gaby. Someway, somehow, you're gonna let me in." he whispered as he left the room, leaving her in her small bubble of darkness.

* * *

**Intense? Or just weird?**

**Please REVIEW!**

**P.S. If you want to see the picture Emily drew for Troy, it's in my profile. I got bored so I decided to draw it…LOL!**


	12. Blackbird

**Hey guys!**

**Yes, I'm aware that I'm updating earlier than usual, but my muse is kicking in to overdrive. That, and I might not be able to update during the week since Monday is my moms birthday, Tuesday is my cousins birthday, Wednesday is yours truly birthday (YAY!), and Thursday I have to take my senior portraits for school and its also my other cousins birthday...I know, there's way to many birthdays this week, LOL! **

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews, the response has been phenomenal so far. I know some of you guys think Gabriella is just a bit weird and that's fine. I want her to seem somewhat weird because that's what attracts Troy. I also know that some people want the Troyella to start already. All I can say is PLEASE be patient. It MIGHT come sooner than you think…LOL! With that being said, I would like to dedicate this chapter to both **_crazyinlu305_ **and **_XotroyellaoX_**. **

_crazyinlu305-_** Thank you so much for the sweet review! You gave me the best compliment ever! I'm sure you'll be a great writer and possibly even better than you say I am. Thanks a bunch with peaches and cream…LOL!**

_XotroyellaoX-_** Thank you for making me feel very special by writing the LONGEST review I ever received! Thank you so much with cherries on a peanut butter cup…I know, I'm weird. LMAO!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"_You want what they want."_

The words seemed to bounce around every corner in Troy's mind. The words that stung like poison in her mouth every time she spoke them and that were filled with so much animosity and fear, replayed over and over in his mind. They were words that Troy was certain would forever be haunting his mind as they did the night before; never ceasing to let him think about anything else or get any sleep for that matter. It was like that one annoying song that one would not be able to get out of their head, making them suffer and wish that for just one moment, they had amnesia. It was these exact words that made Troy hesitant about sitting in front of Dr. Sullivan in the 'viewing room', as Troy came to call it.

The day before had been a complete disaster. Just when Troy had thought that Gabriella was about to open up about her suicide, she completely freaked out and told him to get out.

Why though?

She seemed fine and confident for the first half hour of their brief conversation. She seemed just as confident when she leaned in close to him, which caused the butterflies in his stomach to go into complete overdrive. His stomach turned into a lumpy knot as he forced himself to look away, and instead look at the deep scars that would stay forever imprinted on her wrist.

He didn't understand though. Everything was going fine until…

'_Until I looked at her scars.'_ He thought.

Was that it? Did Gabriella Montez actually become ashamed when he gently touched her skin? Did the confidence she had fade when the memory of that night that occurred exactly a week ago came back to both their minds? Or was it the fact that she new people were watching and listening to her and she just wasn't ready to talk about it?

"Troy? Are you ready?" he heard Dr. Sullivan say.

Troy suddenly met her eyes with his own, "Y-Yea." He stuttered.

Dr. Sullivan arched her eyebrows, "Troy have you listened to a word that I've said?"

Troy began to open his mouth before he realized he had nothing to say. He definitely had not heard a word she had said. Troy knew that he could try to hide the fact that he had ignored her for the past ten minutes, but he decided against it. He slowly shook his head as she gave a loud sigh.

"Look, just get in there, talk to her, and come out." she said while she vaguely remembered the reason she has yet to settle down and have children.

"Wait, Dr. Sullivan?" said Troy as he stood up, "I think that maybe…maybe it would be a good idea if you don't listen to us."

Jaime arched her eyebrow, "With all due respect Troy, I make the decisions around here, not you."

Troy sighed, "I know…but maybe another reason that she started freaking out is because she knows she's being watched and she knows that you're constantly listening to her."

Jaime looked towards the transparent wall. She had never thought about that. But then again, how would she be able to help if she couldn't hear?

"How am I supposed to help her if I don't know what she's saying?"

Troy thought about it for a moment before an idea struck him, "How about you go ahead and listen to her. But if she starts getting hesitant, I'll scratch the back of my head and run my hand through my hair twice. It'll be like a signal or something. I can reassure her that her secret's safe with me. Then I'll just tell you everything afterwards."

Jaime thought about it for a minute. How sure can she be that Troy would tell her everything?

"You can trust me Dr. Sullivan. I promise I'll tell you everything." said Troy.

Jaime sighed.

"Fine." she said, "But you better tell me everything. Now go get to work."

Troy just nodded his head and practically ran out the door, but not before he ran into something, or someone for that matter. He looked up and saw blue eyes staring at his own. Troy let out a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" asked the amused voice of Bobby.

"N-Next door."

Bobby nodded his head, "With the suicidal beauty right?"

"Umm…yea."

A soft chuckle escaped from Bobby's lips as he stepped aside to let Troy through, "Well then," he said, "let's not keep her waiting."

Troy allowed himself to walk through the door as he felt Bobby's eyes burn the back of his head before he heard the man walk into the room and shut the door.

He didn't know why, but for some odd reason, Troy had always felt a little uneasy around the man. He was sure that any other ordinary teenager would think Dr. Drake was the shit. He was always very laid back and always tried to reasonably find the solution to any problem. If anything, Troy should be praising the man for suggesting that he be the one to speak to Gabriella. However, as much as Troy wanted to, he couldn't. He didn't know why, but something told Troy that there was more to Bobby than meets the eye. To Troy, it seemed as if he wanted control over any situation. After all, he had over ruled Dr. Sullivan plenty of times. But maybe…maybe Troy was just thinking too much. Maybe Dr. Drake was a good man and Troy was being way too analytical.

Whatever the reason was, Troy pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he opened the door to Gabriella's 'jail cell' and then closed it.

"Oh, you're here again." he heard the suicidal beauty say as he walked over towards her bed.

Troy arched his eyebrow in confusion when he noticed that she was currently lying on her stomach facing the wall, never once looking back.

"H-How did you know it was me?" he asked as he got a chair and placed it next to the bed.

"I didn't."

She slowly lifted herself up and laid on her back, letting her arms droop on the sides of her bed.

Troy suddenly heard himself gasp as his eyes caught the sight of her arms. She suddenly looked at him and noticed him staring at her arms which were covered in light purple bruises and a small band aid. He felt the stare of her deadly eyes as he slowly looked up to meet them with his own.

"W-What happened?" he asked. He was sure that those bruises were definitely not there the day before. Was she trying to hurt herself under the careful watch of Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Drake?

She raised her right arm in the air and softly touched the bruised areas of her skin. She gave a loud sigh as she suddenly tore the pink bad aid off her shoulder and revealed a small punctured wound. She quickly shook her hand to rid herself of the sticky band aid and met Troy's eyes once again.

"This is what happens when you completely go ape-shit on everyone."

Troy looked at her arms again with a confused look on his face.

"These huge steroid infected guys charge at you to get you to calm down while this little bitch in a nurse's uniform stabs you with a needle."

Troy nodded his head understanding what she meant.

"I thought they were supposed to help you, not hurt you." He said.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"That's what everyone says." She whispered. Her voice was almost inaudible. It was so low that Troy was sure neither Dr. Sullivan nor Dr. Drake had heard her. But he certainly did.

"Not everyone's like that, you know?"

She tore her eyes away from his and shrugged her shoulders once again.

"Some people _do_ want to help." He said.

"Yea?" she asked in a voice so low, anyone would have thought she was just mouthing words.

"Yea." He said as he noticed a small trail of tears running down her cheek. He scooted his chair closer to the bed and let a small smile appear on his cheeks.

She suddenly met his eyes with her own which were now swollen with tears.

"Everyone wants what they can't have."

* * *

Jaime and Bobby both watched the events in the next room unfold. Both were watching Troy and Gabriella as well as listening to their conversation intently. They briefly exchanged words and notes before there was a sudden knock on the door. Both adults looked over at the door. A bright light suddenly flashed on their faces before Alice popped her head into the room.

"Jaime, can you come outside for a minute?" she asked.

Jaime looked over at Bobby. He nodded his head as if telling her that he had everything under control and that he would contact her if something happened.

Jaime stood up, grabbed her notes and followed Alice out the door.

"What is it Alice?" she asked the brunette as she followed her down the hall.

"Matthew Kent is here to see you."

Jaime gasped as she hurried her pace and practically ran into her office.

There, sitting in the chair directly in front of her desk was a man in his mid fifties. He had light skin with light brown eyes and light brown hair. He gave Jaime a gentle smile as she walked towards him and stretched out her hand.

"Hello, Mr. Kent. I'm Dr. Jaime Sullivan." She said.

He stood and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you." He said as he took his seat, "You're a little young to be in charge of the whole floor don't you think?"

"Yea, I get that a lot." She said as she folded her hands on her desk, "But, that's not what we're here to talk about."

He nodded his head, "I realized that when I got 30 missed calls from your receptionist."

Jaime gave a small laugh, "Yea, Alice can be very persistent."

There was moment of silence in the room before Jaime took out some papers from Gabriella's file.

"Mr. Kent," she began, "how long have you been Gabriella's social worker?"

He gave a loud sigh as he ran his hand through his hair, "Not long," he said, "only for about a year…I'll never forget the first time I saw her. It was about eight or nine months ago. She looked so small, so scared. Her name was Alexia at the time and she lived down in El Paso."

"Mr. Kent, why all the names? Why all the different locations?"

"Why not?" he asked.

Jaime arched her eyebrows in confusion, "As far as my knowledge about how the system works, you don't need a name change and the kids usually stay in the same state, not scattered around the country."

"Wouldn't you want a new identity and a new location if you knew that someone was following you?"

Jaime suddenly heard herself gasp, "Following? Wait a minute, what are you talking about?"

Mr. Kent sighed once again, "Look," he said, lowering his voice, "when I first met Gabriella, she was in a rehabilitation center for teens in El Paso."

"Rehabilitation center?"

"Yea, I was called in to transfer her anywhere that was far from Texas. She was my first teenager. Everyone else that I worked with was under the age of twelve, but not her. I though she would be easier to work with, but I was wrong…dead wrong. She wouldn't talk to anyone, she wouldn't look at anyone. She was like a cold statue."

"That sounds just like her."

"It wasn't until a couple days after I arrived that she finally spoke…but…it was all confusing. All she said was 'You want what they want' over and over. Finally she just started to get comfortable and started to say random things. I guess she thought that she was going to stay there for a while because when I told her we were moving her somewhere else she said, 'It doesn't matter where I go, they're gonna find me anyway'."

"So you're saying that she's convinced someone's after her?"

Mr. Kent nodded his head, "I didn't think anything of it at first. But then two months later, I get a call again saying that Violet A.K.A Alexia needed to be transferred again."

"Why, what happened?"

"The same thing that happened six times before."

Jaime's eyes widened.

"Dr. Sullivan," he said, "Gabriella has been hospitalized seven different times. Why? We have no idea. But every time she's in a new location, she lives there in peace for a while. But then I don't know what happens and she just tries to kill herself again."

Jaime looked down at the papers in her hands. She finally realized why Gabriella, and all the other identities she has been given, does not exist. This young girl was convinced that she was being followed and every time she received a new identity, it would limit the chances of being found. But was she really?

"H-Have you ever thought that maybe she's just hallucinating?"

"The thought did cross my mind. That's why I started to contact the social workers that worked on her case before me."

"What did they tell you?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"They're all dead."

* * *

"Do you ever wonder if there's an afterlife?" asked Gabriella.

Troy looked up from picking at a hangnail on his finger.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Gabriella sat up on her bed and leant against the wall. She looked down at her hands before she turned to look at Troy.

"Do you think that maybe, there might be life after this life? You know, like a heaven and hell?"

"Well…yea. Don't you?" he asked.

She gave him a small smile before she looked down at her hands again.

"I don't know." she replied softly, "Sometimes I think that maybe this is hell. Like, this whole world we're living in is just one big hell hole full of corruption, poverty, global warming, war…"

"…Suicide?"

Gabriella looked up and met Troy's eyes.

"Yea," she said softly, "Suicide."

She looked down at her hands again.

Although Troy couldn't fully see her face, he could faintly see a trail of tears coming from her eyes.

"Look Gabriella, I'm sorry."

Gabriella just shook her head, "No, don't be. I totally deserve it."

"But that's the thing; you don't deserve _any_ of this."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't."

"Yes Troy," she said as she looked at him with tears engulfing her eyes, "I do. I'm a horrible person. All I do is move from place to place and make peoples lives miserable. Why? All because of a stupid promise that I sometimes wish I never made."

Troy looked at her with confusion written all over his face, "Promise? What promise?"

Gabriella's eye widened with the realization that she had said too much. Troy looked down at her hands which were nervously scratching at the bed sheets. He looked up at her and noticed her looking at the tinted window in the room. Her lip began to quiver as her hands grabbed the bed sheet and started to wring them.

"Gabriella?" he said as he noticed her breathing become irregular.

She was going to burst. Troy knew that if he said anything else, she would completely freak out again. He didn't know what to say. So he did the only thing that came to his mind.

He scratched the back of his head and ran his hands through his hair twice as he looked at the tinted window in hopes that Dr. Sullivan would turn the intercom in the viewing room off and just let him talk to her with out supervision.

"Gabriella listen to me." he said as he stood up and went to sit next to her on her bed. He could feel Gabriella slowly try to move away from him, all the while staring at the wall.

"No one's there right now. I promise."

Her breathing was still irregular as she let go of the bed sheet and started to draw on the bed with her finger.

"No one can hear us. It's only me and you. No one else."

He slowly began to reach for her hand.

She saw his hand slowly reach for hers from the corner of her eye. She suddenly flinched as she felt his finger gently touch her rough hand.

"Gaby…you can trust me."

Gabriella suddenly held her breath. She turned to look at his eyes and noticed how blue they actually were for the very first time. They were eyes that held so much care and so much passion, more than any eyes she had ever seen.

"W-What did you c-call me?" she quietly asked.

Troy gave her a small smile, "Gaby."

She looked down at her hands again.

"Do you trust me now?" he asked her as he slowly reached for her hand.

Gabriella inhaled a deep breath as she felt a tingling sensation throughout her body. She looked at him again before she let him intertwine their fingers and nodded her head.

"W-What promise were you talking about?"

"Nothing." She replied quickly.

"Gaby, you can tell me."

"No I can't." she said quickly.

Troy wanted to know what she had meant, but knew better than to press the matter. His talk with Gabriella had been going smooth until she got nervous and almost freaked out again. Luckily, he was able to prevent it but he also knew that if he made her the least bit uncomfortable, she would completely freak out again and Dr. Sullivan would definitely never let him speak to her again.

She heaved a loud sigh as she turned to look at him with her eyes. This time, Troy noticed that her eyes were not as dead as they once were. Instead, they were replaced with a mixture of fear and solitude, a fear and solitude that he wanted so badly to cure.

"Gaby, you know that you can talk to me about anything?"

"Why do you care so much?" she asked softly.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because…_I'm nobody's child, I'm nobody's child._" she began to sing softly._  
_

"_Just like the flowers, I'm growing wild.  
I got no mummy's kisses; I got no daddy's smile."  
_

Troy sat there mesmerized by her voice. How is it possible that someone as troubled and fragile as Gabriella have the most beautiful voice he has ever heard?

"_Nobody wants me, I'm nobody's child."_

She let out another breath as she tried to stop the tears from falling.

"That's not true Gabriella."

"Yes it is," she said softly, "no one would ever want someone like me."

'_I do.'_ thought Troy.

"I'm a total fuck up that no one cares about."

"That's not true. I care about you."

"Just face it Troy. I'm useless. I'm like a stupid black bird that's always picked on by all the beautiful doves. Nobody cares Troy. All they care about is getting me out of here so they could move on to the next freak show."

She leaned her head back on the wall and closed her eyes.

Troy didn't know what to do. How can he convince her that he actually _does_ care?

"_I'm like a stupid black bird."_

Her words stung him like a deadly wasp. How can he make her realize how beautiful she was? How can he convince her that she needed to be strong?

A small smile suddenly appeared on his face as an idea came to his mind. He cleared his voice and looked at her beautiful face.

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night,"_

He began to sing,

"_Take these broken wings and learn to fly.  
All your life,  
you were only waiting for this moment to arise."_

He looked at her as her eyes suddenly fluttered open. She turned to look at him as the trace of a faint smile slowly began appear.

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night  
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see." _

He offered her a small smile as the tears of sadness began to turn to tears of joy. He knew he sounded horrible, and he knew that he was probably making a fool of himself. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was making Gabriella realize that she did matter and that he did care. He needed to show her that she was beautiful and that she needed to be strong.

"_All your life  
you were only waiting for this moment to be free."_

Troy stopped singing as he saw her smile fade away. She turned away from him and closed her eyes. Did it not work? Did she still not trust him? He let out a frustrated sigh as he looked away from her.

"_Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly."_

His eyes widened as he heard her sing. He looked back at her. Their eyes suddenly met, and for the first time since Troy had known her, she did something that he only saw her do in her dreams. She gave him a true genuine smile. He grinned at her while he sang after her.

"_Into the light of the dark black night."_

There was a comfortable silence. Their eyes never left each others, for in that small moment, a feeling of trust and passion entered both of their minds.

"Yellow." she said softly.

Troy arched his eyebrow, "What was that?"

"You asked me what my favorite color was. It's Yellow."

"Is that so?"

She nodded her head.

"And I love cheese." she said as soft giggles escaped her lips.

He suddenly looked away embarrassed as laughter escaped from both their mouths.

"Me too." he said as he looked back at her, "You had me worried there for a second."

Gabriella laughed a little louder this time. He really liked her laugh. It was sweet and angelic and every bit as beautiful as her. He couldn't explain it. But somehow, her laugh made him feel reassured…reassured that somehow, someway, everything was going to be alright.

However, nothing seemed to beat the feeling he got when he realized that her hand still held on tightly to his, never letting go of the feeling both of them got when their skin finally touched.

* * *

**REVIEW!**

**P.S. The first song is called **_Nobody's Child_** and the second one is called **_Blackbird_**. Both are sung buy the awesomely cool band, The Beatles! There are links in my profile if you want to hear them. **

**P.P.S. Ok, so I saw Camp Rock the other day and my verdict is in…I thought it was alright. I-mean don't get me wrong, it was good, but it was DEFENITELY no HSM. So yea, I just thought you should know. **

**Please don't forget to REVIEW!!**


	13. Magic Cape

**Hey guys!**

**Yes! I'm finally back. After two very LONG weeks of birthdays and school pictures mixed with painful facials, a trip to Disneyland, and summer reading…I finally have time to update! LOL!**

**Thanks again for the reviews guys! I'm so ecstatic that you guys liked the last chapter and that you guys took the time to push that little annoying button at the bottom and reviewed my story. Thanks to you guys, I now have 103 reviews which are WAY more than my other stories. So thank you so much for that. With that being said, I'm dedicating this chapter to **_zanessa4ever719_ **for reading every single chapter in my story and reviewing every single one of them. I thought that that was SUPER sweet of you to do! I also want to dedicate this chapter to **_avaa005_** for being my 100****th**** reviewer! I love you guys so much!**

**Ok, so on with the story! Now, this chapter picks up exactly where Dr. Sullivan and Mr. Kent left off. This part was actually cut from the last chapter because it was getting WAY to long and I didn't want to bore you guys. But this part is important because you find out A LOT about Gabriella's past. So yea…LOL!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Dead?!"

"Yea, dead. That's why I was assigned to her."

Jaime sat back in her chair and let go of the breath she didn't even know she was holding in. This was way too much to take in. First, she learns that Gabriella Montez doesn't exist. Then she finds out that the girl has had seven different identities, and now she finds out that the girl is being followed.

This was all too unreal.

"This…" began Jaime, "...this is just so surreal. It just can't be possible."

"But it's true."

Jaime let out another loud sigh, "So you're saying that the reason Gabriella, or Violet, or Alexia, or who ever the hell she is, has been hospitalized seven times because she's being followed. Mr. Kent, do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

"I do. That's why when Alexia turned into Violet; I started to do some research about her past. As you might know, nothing came up. It was like the people I work for just decided to make her a new person and completely erase the person she was before. Every time she tries to kill herself, they just send someone new to pick up the pieces by giving her a new name and ship her off to whoever's willing to house an 'innocent girl'."

Jaime closed Gabriella's folder and looked up at the man. Rage suddenly filled her eyes. How can people who are supposed to help a troubled girl just pack her up and move her like yesterdays trash? Weren't they supposed to help her? Weren't they supposed to make her feel better?

No wonder she wouldn't look at anyone. No wonder she wouldn't talk. No wonder she wouldn't trust people near her, much less doctors. She was just waiting for somebody to come in and take her someplace else where she could go away from whoever was after her. She was waiting for someone to take her somewhere that she could finally call home. Everything suddenly made sense to Jaime as she looked at the snow globe that still rested on her desk.

"Mr. Kent, how can you guys just ship her off someplace else with out the proper treatment and care?" said Jaime with anger evident in her voice, "How can you guys tell her to her face that she's going somewhere new where no one will get to her? How can you guys lie to her face and tell her that you guys care about her when you don't give a fuck about her!"

"Now wait just a minute!" said Mr. Kent as he rose from his seat, "You think it's easy keeping tabs on all these foster kids? We have over 500,000 kids in the system, each with different problems and needs."

"That doesn't mean that you guys can just ship them off whenever you guys don't want to deal with them anymore!" said Jaime as she too rose from her seat.

"Look, we have tried to do the best we can when it comes to kids like Gabriella. You think its easy having to change her name and her location every time she tries to do something? You don't know what its like every time we get that phone call telling us that she's in the hospital again. You don't know what its like every time I come in to see her. If you think that it doesn't break my heart to see her in that bed, then you are wrong! I do care!"

Jaime took a deep breath and met Mr. Kent's eyes with her own. She could tell that what he said was sincere. But that, in no way, made up for what they fail to do, help her.

"Look, Dr. Sullivan." He said, "We try to come up with the best possible solution for Gabriella and right now, giving her a new identity and changing he location seems like the best one."

"But its not." She said more softly, "One day, she's going to wake up and she's going to kill her self. Tell me Mr. Kent, whose fault will it be then? The doctors that failed to get her to open up, or the one's who kept moving her around?"

Mr. Kent did nothing but look down at his hands.

Jaime let out a small sigh and sat down again, "Mr. Kent, we could argue all day long but right now, we have to focus on Gabriella. You said you did some research. What else did you find out?"

Mr. Kent nodded his head as he took a seat once again, "It was hard, but I was able to find the people she stayed with since she was Becca in Phoenix, Arizona."

"What did they tell you?"

Mr. Kent shrugged his shoulders, "The same thing that all the people before did. They told me that she was a nice quiet girl who was very smart and hardly ever got in trouble. But, that's not what scared me."

Jaime stared at Mr. Kent, signaling him to continue.

"What scared me the most was that they all told me the same thing about the events that happened before she tried to kill herself. She came home from school in a hurry and she got jumpy around people. She made sure all the curtains were closed by seven at night and she always looked around her when she was out in public. It was like paranoia started to take over her life. A week after the paranoia started, she tried to kill herself. Then, when the whole family came back from the hospital, they found that their house was broken into. But get this…nothing that belongs to the family got stolen. They're not even touched. But when they got to Gabriella's room, they found that the whole place had been completely trashed."

Jaime's eyes wanted to jump out of their sockets. This was the exact same story that Ms. Gomez had told her a couple of days before. Why hadn't she thought anything of it?

Gabriella story was puzzling and mysterious. However, the more Jaime listened to Mr. Kent's story, the more Jaime came to realize that Bobby was right, there was more to Gabriella than meets the eye.

* * *

"What up man?" asked Chad as he held out his hand to make his manly handshake with Troy.

Troy did the 'handshake' with Chad and sat down on his couch. He had just gotten home from one of best/most interesting events of his life. Gabriella had finally opened up to him.

After he had sung so horribly to her, Troy had received the answers to every single question he had ever asked her. They talked about movies, books, TV shows, favorite places, and their favorite time of day. Troy was positive that by the end of the day, her eyes, which haunted him wherever he went, were no longer lifeless and dull. No. He was convinced that while she began to open up, he eyes were slowly coming back to life and they started to regain their natural chocolate color. Her hair, which seemed stringy, was slowly regaining its natural curls and her face seemed to glow along with the rest of her skin every time she laughed or smiled.

He was really disappointed when Dr. Sullivan knocked on the door's small window to signal that time was up and that he had to leave. However, nothing could take away the big smile off of his face when he walked out of her room after he promised her he'd be back the next day.

"So, how was work?" asked Chad as he grabbed the pillow that had fallen from under his encased leg.

Troy leaned back on the couch and smiled, "Good…_very_ good."

"Yea? And why's that? Did you get laid by some sexy nurse or something?" asked Chad as he wiggled his eyebrow suggestively.

"Why do you always think the reason someone's happy is because they got laid?"

Chad just rolled his eyes.

"Where's Emily at anyway?" asked Troy as he looked around the living room.

Chad shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. She was here a minute ago."

Troy suddenly stood and looked around the room.

"Emily? Where are you?" asked Troy as he looked into the kitchen, but saw no one there.

"Hmm, you're not in the kitchen…I wonder if you're upstairs." he said as he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps run up the stairs as he walked out of the kitchen.

A small smirk appeared on his face as he walked up the steps. While he was halfway up the stairs, he heard the sound of more running and the sound of a door shutting. When he finally reached the second level of his house, he looked left and walked towards his parent's room.

"Now where on earth can my dear Emily be?" he asked to no one in particular.

He stuck his head into his parents' room, knowing very well that she was not in there.

"She's not in mom and dad's room, and she's not in the bathroom either." he said after he stuck is head in the bathroom as well.

He walked towards her room and opened it to reveal an empty bedroom with toys all over the floor.

"She's not in her room."

He then walked over to the hall closet and cracked it open a bit. Just as he thought, there was no one there.

"And she's not in the closet either. Where on earth can she be?"

A smirk suddenly appeared on his lips as he heard small giggles coming from the inside of his room.

"Oh, no!" he yelled, "What am I going to do? How am I supposed to survive if I can't find her?" he said as he walked towards his closed bedroom door.

He opened the door and slowly walked into his room.

"I think I'm going to cry. My Emily is lost forever and it's _all_ my fault! Where could she be?"

A small smirk appeared on his face as he fell back on his bed.

"And to think," he continued, "I was just about to tell her that I was going to take her ice skating on Sunday. Now I guess I'll just have to take Chad, even if I'll have to roll him around the ice."

"No! Take me instead!" he suddenly heard.

He smiled as he turned towards the closet that Emily had just run out of. She stopped dead in her tracks once she saw him lying on his bed with both hands resting under his head.

"Troy!" she yelled as she crossed both arms over her small body.

"Gotcha." he said before she stomped over to his bed and jumped on top of him.

He groaned in pain as small giggles escaped her small lips.

"You think this is funny?" he asked as he suddenly stood and picked her up. He draped her over his shoulders and walked out of his room.

"Put me down!" she yelled.

He laughed as he heard the pleas coming from her mouth. He walked into her room where he carefully threw her on the bed and started to tickle her.

"T-Troy!" she said as she gasped for breath.

Laughter filled the whole room as he continued to tickle her. Tears threatened to escape her small eyes as she begged for him to stop.

"Say that Troy is the best brother in the world." He said as he found her weak spot around her waist.

The young girl shook her head as she tried to suppress the laughter coming out of her mouth.

"Then I guess I'm just going to have to keep on tickling you."

"T-Troy!" she said in between laughter.

"Say it."

She shook her head once again as he kept on tickling her.

"C'mon, say it."

Emily's stomach suddenly began to hurt from all the laughter.

"F-Fine!" she exclaimed as she finally decided that she couldn't take the tickling any longer, "T-Troy is…the b-best b-brother…in the w-world!"

"What was that?" he asked as he continued to tickle her, "I didn't hear that."

"I said, TROY IS THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD!"

"Alright, alright," he said once his hands finally left her aching stomach, "you don't have to brag about it."

Emily suddenly jumped on top of her brother once again making him fall back on her bed. Laughter filled the room once again as she sat on top of her brothers stomach.

"Emily I c-cant b-breathe!"

He suddenly rolled her off of his body and sat up before she could do anything else.

Giggles escaped her lips as he looked down at her. He loved her laugh. It was pure, sweet, and innocent.

"Just like Gabriella's"

"Who's Gabriella?" he heard the young girl ask.

"Umm…" he mumbled as he scratched the back of his head nervously. He hadn't realized that he said that out loud.

"She's…a girl"

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Troy almost choked on his own spit at the mention of the word girlfriend.

"Umm…s-she's a girl, who's a friend."

"Is she that blonde girl who wouldn't leave you alone?"

Troy let a chuckle escape his lips at the mention of Sharpay. He suddenly remembered the very, _very_ short time that he went out with Sharpay Evans, the self proclaimed drama queen of East High. He never considered her to be his girlfriend, although if you asked her, they were on their way to becoming engaged. He never even thought of them as being in a relationship either. I-mean, who decides to get 'hitched' after one date…if you could even call it that. He needed a date for his basketball banquet last year and he, being the procrastinator he was, waited till the last minute to ask someone. By the time the week of the banquet came, he found that almost every available, non idiotic girl was already taken.

He didn't really mind though. He figured that he could just go by himself or just skip it altogether. However, if it weren't for his supposed best friend Chad who made fun of his dateless male ego, he would have never asked Sharpay to go with him. He made a stupid bet with Chad in which he said that he would ask out the next girl who walked out the girl's bathroom, even if they were in the 'nerd/loser' hallway in school.

However, much to the dismay of Troy and the amusement of Chad, Sharpay Evans just so happened to be the next girl to step out of that bathroom. Troy had no choice but to ask her, since he was never one to back out of a bet.

He still remembered the squeals that never ceased to send shivers down his spine when he asked her. She immediately gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran to _'Go tell Ryan'_. The week after the banquet, Sharpay would stop by his house unannounced and continuously buy him presents…not that he minded. After all, it's not everyday a teenager gets a new diamond encrusted Rolex watch to go with his new expensive Blackberry Curve.

"No, it's not her."

Emily gave a sigh of relief, "Good, because her voice reminds me of Cruela Devil."

Troy let a small laugh escape his lips.

"So, who is she?"

"Who?"

"Gabriella." she said in a sort of _'duh'_ tone.

"S-She's…just a friend."

"From where?"

"The hospital."

Emily arched her eyebrows, "She's not crazy is she?"

"Where would you get an idea like that?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Chad always tells me how you work with crazy people that will attack me if I don't get him something to eat."

Troy rolled his eyes, "Don't listen to Chad. No 'crazy' person is going to get you. Remember, no one will ever hurt you as long as I'm around."

"I think you should be around more often."

"Why's that?"

Emily began to roll the sleeves from her pants up to her knees and revealed a small cuts and a bruise that was slowly beginning to form.

"How did you get that?" asked her brother as he gently touched the skin around the bruise.

"I-I fell off the tree in the backyard."

He leaned down and placed a soft gentle kiss on the bruise.

"There is that better?"

Emily nodded her head.

"Now, you know that you're not supposed to be playing on that tree right?"

She nodded her head again, "I don't plan to climb that tree again. I don't want to get more purple circles on me anymore."

"Well, you're just going to have to be more careful."

"But it's not fair! You play basketball with Chad all the time and you don't get purple circles." she said as she crossed her arms around her chest.

Troy gave her a small smirk, "Well, that's because you don't have my magic cape."

Emily scrunched her face in confusion, "What magic cape?"

"The one that protects me from everything. This cape is the reason I never get hurt."

"Can I see it?"

Troy shook his head, "It's invisible."

A small frown appeared on her face.

"But you know what?"

Emily shook her head. Troy lifted his hands in front of his neck and pretended to untie something. He then flung his arms around and pretended to take the cape off. Emily eyes lit up as he put the invisible cape around her and tied it around her neck.

"I'm going to let you borrow it for a while." he said.

Emily offered him a huge smile before she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you Troy." she whispered.

He gave her a softy kiss on hr forehead, "You welcome, and anytime Chad threatens you when you don't give him food, just take his crutches away and hide them in my room. He'll never be able to find them"

She gave a small giggle before she sat back on her bed and looked into his eyes, "So who's Gabriella?"

"I told you she's just a friend."

"Like Chad?"

"Y-Yea…almost like Chad."

"So, she's not your girlfriend?"

'_I wish.'_

"No, she's not my girlfriend."

"Is she going to go ice skating with us?"

Troy nervously scratched the back of his neck. His sister sure had a lot of questions for a six-year-old.

"Umm…I don't know Em."

"Why not?"

Troy gave out a loud sigh, _'Yea, why not?'_

Maybe an outing would be a good a thing for Gabriella. After all, she had finally opened up, the least Dr. Sullivan can do is let her go out somewhere. Plus, he had been itching to see Gabriella out of those hospital clothes. He could only imagine how beautiful she looked without the light green pants and the elbow-length sleeved shirt.

"I don't know, but I'll tell you what. I'll ask if she can come, but I can't promise you anything."

Emily nodded her head.

"But you know what I do know for sure?"

She shook her head.

"I want ice cream, what about you?"

"Before dinner?" she gasped.

He gave her another smirk, "I won't tell if you won't."

She nodded her head as she suddenly stood up, "Last one out is a rotten egg!"

He laughed as he ran after her down the stairs and out the door. He caught up to her and picked her up by the waist and ran around the front yard and pretended to make her fly.

He finally put her down and bent down to meet her eyelevel, "Are you ready for some ice cream?"

Emily nodded her head excitingly.

"Did I hear the words _ice_ and _cream_ together?" asked Chad as he limped out of the house and headed towards the car.

Troy rolled his eyes, "Sure Chad, juts get in."

He went to grab his keys from the house and locked the door. He then got into the car and began to drive away from the house with Chad sitting next to him and Emily in the backseat.

However, while the two siblings were running around the front yard and Chad was limping out of the house, no one seemed to notice the black four door Sedan parked right across the street from the house. No one seemed to notice that after Troy backed out of the driveway and began to drive down the street, the Sedan quickly started and followed them from a distance, always going unnoticed.

* * *

**PLEASE don't hate me!**

**I know it's been like 2 weeks since I updated and this chapter isn't really much. The reason for this is because I already have something planned for the beginning of the next chapter. As you guys probably already know, I like to jump in between scenes and if I did that here, it would just be confusing and it wouldn't really go with the flow, but at least it's something…right? It doesn't mean that you guys can't push that AMAZINGLY annoying button at the end and REVIEW right? Plus, it's Troy-centric and it talks about how he feels…so, yea…LOL!**

**Also, I have some kind of bad news. I won't be able to update for the next two weeks because of the fact that I'm leaving the country on Monday. I'm going on vacation to visit family in Mexico so this is probably the last time I'm going to update for a while. Hopefully I can ask my cousin to let me borrow hers but it would be kind of hard. I PROMISE that I'll try my best to get close to a computer and at least type up a chapter or two so it would be up and ready by the time I come back if I don't get a chance to update there.**

**On a happier note, I want to wish everyone a HAPPY FIREWORK DAY!! (LOL! It's an inside joke for me and my weird friends.)**

**And for you normal people, I want to wish you guys a HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!**

**Don't do anything stupid…LOL…I really shouldn't be one to talk.**

**So yea, sorry again for the long wait and PLEASE don't forget to REVIEW! **


	14. The Perfect World

**Hola my good friends!**

**LOL! I know shocking right? I'm actually updating early. I was lucky enough to finish packing early which allowed me to write this chapter up for you guys. I swear, it is the LONGEST one so far. But then again, you guys deserve it since I'm going to be gone for two WHOLE weeks!**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter even though I was a bit hesitant to post it. Your support is really AWESOME! With that being said, I want to dedicate this lovely chapter to **_–zanessa4eva-212 _**for actually getting out of bed just to read my story, LOL!**

**Disclaimer: I own Nada…Nothing…Zilch!**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

"_Daddy no! I don't wanna go!"_

"_You have to mija."_

"_But I don't wanna!"_

_The young girl then ran back into her room, climbed on top of her bed, and laid face down on her pillow crying her chocolate eyes out. Her father ran in after her and scooped her up in his arms before he walked out of the room._

"_Put me down!" she yelled as tears were cascading down her soft round cheeks._

_The brown skinned man suddenly put her down in the living room of their small apartment. The girl was just about to run back to her room, but her father grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him. He bent down to meet her eyelevel and grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her from going anywhere._

"_Mira mija." he said in a stern voice, "I know you don't want to leave. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is take you away from here and from all your friends, but I have no choice."_

"_But why?!" she sobbed, "Why can't I stay here?"_

"_Mija, you can't. You can't just stay here all by yourself. You have to come with me."_

"_But WHY?! Why can't I stay here?!"_

"_Because you just CAN'T!" he yelled._

_The young girl did nothing but sob in front of her dad. He gave a loud sigh as he murmured Spanish curses under his breath. He looked around the small apartment before his eyes landed on the black duffel bag and the small backpack by the door._

_He had to do this. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to, and fast. It was the only way to make sure that HE would never get to his daughter, his most valuable possession._

"_Lo siento mija," he said more softly as he cupped his daughters face and wiped the tears away from her eyes with his thumb, "But we have to go now."_

_The girl gave a small sniff as she slowly nodded her head._

"_Pero mira," he whispered, "I promise you that one day we'll come back. Ok?"_

"_B-But what about mami?" _

_The man sighed._

"_W-What will she say when we don't visit her on Sunday's anymore?"_

"_Mami will be with us everywhere we go, ok?"_

"_B-But how?"_

_The man sighed again before he looked towards the small table against the wall. His eyes landed on a round snow globe that contained miniature versions of New York's landmarks. His lips curved up into a small smile as he reached for the snow globe that once belonged to his wife. He held it in his hands before he gently shook it in front of his daughter. As he watched the snow fall softly over the Statue of Liberty, the memory of the time his wife bought it suddenly entered his mind. _

_It was exactly a week before his daughter was born and they were walking down Time Square. Their arms were linked together as they admired the city lights ahead of them. They were talking about the plans they had after their precious baby was born. They had planned to move as far away from the city as possible because they didn't want to raise their child in a city environment. His wife was a bit hesitant to move away from her home. However, her husband had assured her that it would be better for the three of them. His wife though, was not thoroughly convinced since she argued that New York was 'The best city in the world'. _

_He did not want to disappoint his wife. So they stopped by a small vendor on the side of the street. He told her to pick something from a table filled with souvenirs. After looking at all of them, his wife had finally decided on the round snow globe with the revolving subway train at the base. The man paid for it before they both walked away hand in hand and talked about how she wanted to give the souvenir to their daughter so that she would always know and remember where her parents had come from._

_Needless to say, his wife never had the chance to give it to her daughter because three weeks after her birth and two days before they were moving away, she died. The man became distraught and overcome with the fear of raising his daughter on his own, especially with his line of work. He feared leaving her with random strangers in a place were he would know no one. Most of all, he was filled with remorse over his wife's sudden death and feared not being near her, even if she was six feet underground. So he decided to stay in New York and raised his daughter with the help of some neighbors. _

"_Mami will always be with you." he whispered as he handed the snow globe to his daughter._

_The young girl took the snow globe from her father and gently shook it as a small smile appeared on her face. She had known that the snow globe belonged to her mother, but she never imagined that one day it would belong to her._

_Her father gave her a small kiss on her forehead before he stood up and walked towards the bags. He picked up the small Barbi back pack and walked towards his daughter. He knelt down in front of her, unzipped it, and held it open towards her. She gently placed the snow globe in her back pack, making sure to wrap it around some of her clothes to keep it from breaking._

_He then stood up, walked towards the duffle bag and picked it up._

"_Estas lista?" he asked her._

_She nodded her head and walked towards him. He opened the door and walked out. She was about to follow when she suddenly stopped._

"_Wait!" she yelled as she ran back into her room. _

"_Mija, we can't keep doing this!" he yelled, "We have to go now."_

_She suddenly ran back into the living room with her precious doll which she named Maria, after her mother. It was the same doll that her father had given her with the yellow dress, her favorite color. It was the doll that her father had told her to keep close to her at all times._

"_Here." he said as he grabbed her back pack and held it open to her, "Put her in here."_

_The young girl scrunched up her face in confusion, "But why? How can I show off Maria to all the other girls if she's in there?"_

_Her father shook his head, "Now's not a good time to show her off."_

"_But why?"_

"_Because the ride to our new home is far and we don't want to risk her getting lost now, do we?" _

_His daughter contemplated this before she shook her head. She put her doll in her back pack next to the snow globe. She then took the back pack from her father's hands and put it on her shoulders. _

_She followed her father out of their apartment and out of the building. Once they were on the street, her father slowly looked up and down the street. _

_Finally, he breathed out a sigh of relief and took her small hand in his. _

"_Ok," he said, "let's go."_

_However, what the ten-year-old and her father failed to notice in the short minute it took for both of them to turn the street corner, was that a black four door Sedan had quietly turned on and followed closely behind. _

* * *

"So what are they going to do with her?" asked Bobby.

Jaime ran her hand through her hair and sighed, "They're going to take her away again."

Bobby suddenly turned towards his friend.

"What?!" he asked, "B-But they can't."

Jaime shrugged her shoulders, "They can, and they will."

The two friends turned to look at the transparent wall which allowed them to look into Gabriella's room. She was currently sitting back on her bed playing with her snow globe that Jaime gave to Mr. Kent to give to her, while she listened to Mr. Kent who sat in the chair next to her.

Jaime sighed again as she thought back to the argument she had with Mr. Kent the day before. Although she had tried her best to argue with him, they both decided that it would be best that Gabriella be transferred elsewhere.

"Do we know where?" asked Bobby.

Jaime shook her head, "No. He said it was completely confidential."

Bobby rolled his eyes as he leaned against the table.

"Well this is great." He said with sarcasm evident in his voice, "How are we supposed to help her now?"

Jaime shrugged her shoulders as she saw Mr. Kent get up from the chair and walk out of Gabriella's room. Jaime walked out of the viewing room and met him in the hallway.

"What did she say?" asked Jaime.

"Nothing, not that it surprises me."

"I'm telling you Mr. Kent, this is a bad idea."

"Dr. Sullivan," he began, "we have no other choice."

"How can helping her not be a choice?"

Mr. Kent sighed.

"We went over this already. Unless we want whoever is after her to get her, then she should stay. But since we don't, then it's best she leave."

Jaime rolled her eyes as she leaned against the wall.

"Now, I told her that we'll be here for her tomorrow morning." he said.

"But tomorrow's Sunday. Dr. Benton won't be back until Monday, how am I supposed to release her without his consent?"

"That's why they invented phones."

"But…"

"We could argue all day again Dr. Sullivan. But I have work to do. I'll be here around nine to pick her up." He said before he walked away leaving Jaime alone in the hallway.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed. That man sure could get under her skin.

In a fit of rage, Jaime took the folder she held in her hands and threw it against the wall, letting the papers fall everywhere. She kicked the papers around before she started to bang the wall with her fist.

"E-Excuse me Dr. Sullivan?" she heard someone say.

Jaime looked towards the person who distracted her from venting out her anger and was met with Troy's confused eyes.

Jaime blew some hair away from her face before she bent down to pick up some of the papers.

"What do you want Troy?" she asked.

"I-I just wanted to talk to you about something." he said as he knelt down to help her pick the papers up.

"What about?"

"It's umm…it's about Gabriella."

"What about her?"

"Gabriella has umm…she has shown a lot of…improvement these last few days and umm…I was wondering if I could…you know…take her somewhere to umm…celebrate."

Jaime stopped organizing her papers and looked at Troy with an arched eyebrow.

"You want to take her out?"

"Y-Yea." He stammered.

Jaime sighed before she stood up, "This is a hospital Mr. Bolton, not a dating service."

"I-I know that, its just…its just that I think that she needs some time away from this place. You know? Maybe she'll open up more if you let her out of here, just for an afternoon." He said as he stood up as well.

"Look Troy, as much as I think it might be a good idea to let her get some fresh air, the answer is no."

Troy's face fell at the answer Jaime gave him.

"N-No? But why?"

"Because she's leaving."

Troy's eyes widened in shock.

"L-Leaving? But she can't be leaving." he said as she began to walk towards the viewing room.

"Yea, well social services doesn't think we're doing a good job so they're taking her away."

"But they can't!"

Jaime suddenly turned to look at him.

"Look Troy, I hate it just as much as you do. But let's not forget our jobs here, ok?"

"But I thought that we were supposed to help her? Not make her go away!"

"That's what I said, but do you think they listen?"

She sighed once again, "Look, just go in there and talk to her some more. I might be the last time you do it." She said before she walked back into the viewing room.

Troy stood there in utter shock. How could this be happening? How could they be taking Gabriella…his Gabriella away from him? It just wasn't fair! How can they take those big chocolate eyes and those pink, round lips away from him? This couldn't be happening. This wasn't right. They were supposed to help Gabriella, not take her away.

He was supposed to help her open up about her suicide. He was supposed to be there when they finally release her from the hospital. He was supposed to be there when she went back to school. He was supposed to there when he introduced her to his friends and to little Emily as his girlfriend. He was supposed to be there when he takes her up to his favorite place and kiss her until there was no more air in either of their lungs. He was supposed to be the one that would hug her and promise to take care of her forever.

But not anymore. He wouldn't be able to do any of these things now. Why? Because the fucking idiots from social services think that they're not doing a good job in helping her.

It wasn't fair.

Troy felt like screaming at the top of his lungs. But he couldn't. He needed to be strong. So he did what any other regular teenage guy would do. He brushed his feelings aside and walked into Gabriella's room.

However, as he was about to walk towards the door, he suddenly looked down and noticed that he was stepping on a small stack of papers that were stapled together. He bent down and picked them up. He suddenly began to look through them.

Alexandra, age 14, Sacramento California …Karen, age 15, Boston Massachusetts… Bailey-Marie, age 16, San Diego California…what? Who were all these people?

Troy didn't remember ever seeing any of these people on this floor.

'_Maybe there from another floor.'_ he thought before he folded the papers, stuffed them into his pocket, and walked towards Gabriella's room.

Once inside, he found Gabriella lying on her stomach. Her feet were resting on her pillow as her head faced the tinted window. She wasn't looking at the window though. No. Instead, she was carefully watching snow fall over a small city in a snow globe that she held in her hands.

Confusion spread throughout Troy's face. Patients weren't allowed to have anything made of glass. However, he figured that it was probably acceptable since Dr. Sullivan hadn't said anything about it.

He took a step closer to her. She hadn't heard him enter the room since she just laid there, mesmerized by the snowfall which covered the small city like a blanket. He walked a little closer to her. A small smile appeared on his face as he faintly heard Gabriella singing.

"_In between the cover of another perfect wonder and it's so white as snow,"_

She shook the snow globe once again as she gently touched the glass with her index finger.

_  
"Running through the field where all my tracks will be concealed and there's nowhere to go."_

He walked closer to her as he noticed her draw invisible circles on the glass while a soft sigh escaped her lips. The smile on his face grew bigger as he opened his mouth,

"_I said hey hey yeah oh yeah, tell my love now."_

Gabriella jumped as she heard the voice. But it wasn't just any voice. No. It was _his_ voice. Troy's voice. The voice that she had grown so accustomed to hearing.

She looked up to meet her chocolate eyes with his ultramarine ones. Her lips curved upward into a smile as he stepped closer to her.

"Hey." she said.

"Hey." he answered.

She sat up on the bed as he walked over to the chair next to the bed.

"How are you today?" he asked.

She looked down at the snow globe and shook it once again.

"I'm alright." she whispered.

He looked down at her snow globe and watched as it covered what appeared to be the Empire State Building.

"What's that you've got there?" he asked as he pointed to the globe in her hand.

She looked down and let out a small sigh.

"A perfect world." she said.

Troy arched his eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

She looked back up at him and offered him a small smile.

"It's the perfect world." She repeated, "It's a place where you don't have to think or worry about anything…you know? Just by looking at it, you can imagine standing in the middle of it and looking up at all the buildings."

She looked back down at _'the perfect world'_ in her hands.

"And then you look up at the sky and feel the snowflakes fall on your face. Then, you can feel them melt but you don't care, because those snowflakes and those buildings…they can make you believe that just for one minute…you're free."

She looked back at Troy and met his soft stare.

"Can I see it?" he asked.

She nodded her head and handed the globe to Troy. He took it from her hands and gently shook it.

"Where did you get it from?" he asked as he played with the subway train at the base of the globe. He slowly began to spin it around with his finger.

"It was my mothers."

He looked up at her, "Yea?"

"Yea." she whispered.

She looked away from him to try to hide the emotions that threatened to spill from her eyes. But it was too late. Troy had indeed seen them. He stared at her as she started to draw invisible figures with her finger on her bed.

"W-What happened to you parents?" he asked.

She suddenly looked at Troy with an unreadable expression in her eyes. He looked down at her hands and noticed them scrunch up into tiny balls.

Uh-oh.

Had he gone too far? Had he suddenly opened a big can of worms that was never supposed to be open in the first place? Had he made her uncomfortable? Was she going to freak out on him again?

'_Great job Bolton!'_ he thought to himself, _'You just made her hate you again. What the fuck were you thinking asking her about her parents? She's not going to want to speak to you again. This is great; this is just fan-fucking-tastic!' _

"They're dead." he suddenly heard her say.

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He met her stare again and was surprised to find pain and sorrow instead of anger and fury.

"D-Dead?" he asked, unsure if he should be pressing the matter more. He placed the snow globe next to her hand on the bed and sat back on his chair.

She slowly nodded her head as she stared back at the tinted window, a clear sign that she didn't want to discuss it any further, and Troy had no intention of making her uncomfortable.

An awkward silence fell in the room. Troy nervously sat playing with his thumbs as he let out a loud sigh. If there was one thing Troy hated more than Chad talking while his mouth is stuffed with mashed potatoes, it was awkward silences.

"So," he began, "do…do you like ice skating?"

She looked back at him with her eyebrow arched up in confusion.

"You know," he said, "ice skating? You wear shoes with blades under them and you just slide around before you fall on your ass?"

"I know what it is." she said with no emotion in her voice.

"Oh…well, do you like it?"

She shrugged her shoulder, "I guess, I-mean I haven't done it since I was ten."

"Would you like to try again?"

She gave him a blank stare.

'_Think fast Bolton.' _

"Emily loves ice skating."

He noticed her face fall at the mention of Emily for a second before she went back to giving him a blank stare. What was up with that? Was she sad? Was she jealous? Maybe he just imagined it.

"She's been bugging me to take her for a while now. I was going to take her tomorrow and I was wondering if maybe you…you know…wanna go too."

"W-Why would you want me to go?" she asked, "Wouldn't you want to be alone with Emily?"

"I'm always alone with her. She's always there when I fall asleep and when I wake up, and I want you to go because I think you deserve to have a day of fun."

Gabriella's eyes widened in shock while her cheeks started to turn a light shade of pink.

"Umm…" she began nervously, "I-I'm sure it'll be fun…b-but umm, I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why?"

"B-Because I wouldn't want to be a burden on you."

"You won't."

"Well…then I don't want to interfere with your couple time."

"What couple time?"

She looked at him with confusion in her eyes, "Y-You know."

He scrunched up his face, "N-No I don't."

"Troy, call me crazy, but I have no interest in watching you suck face with your girlfriend."

Troy almost chocked on his spit at the mention of the word 'girlfriend'. Did she think Emily was his girlfriend? Is that why she was acting weird?

"Girlfriend?! Eww, no." he said, "You think Emily's my girlfriend?"

"Isn't she?"

Troy let out a small laugh as he shook his head.

"Then who is she?" asked Gabriella, clearly annoyed at the fact that he was laughing at her.

"She's my six-year-old sister."

Gabriella's mouth made an 'O' shape as he continued to laugh. Her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink as she let out a small chuckle. She looked down at her hands. She felt so stupid and embarrassed staring at him while he laughed.

Suddenly, she felt his rough hands touch her own. He gave her a tight squeeze as she met his eyes once again.

"So, do you want to go?" he asked with hope in his voice, "Emily's been dying to meet you. She wants to know the girl that's been stealing her awesomely cool older brother."

She gave him a small smile before she looked down at their hands, which were still connected.

"I-I can't." she said as she pulled her hand away from his.

His face suddenly fell when her hand left his, "Why?"

She looked back at him and sighed, "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Troy let out a loud sigh. Of course, how could he have forgotten?

"Right," he said, "Dr. Sullivan told me. B-But maybe we could go before, you know?"

She shook her head, "No. I'm leaving in the morning."

"Oh. Do you know where?"

She shook her head again, "No, they don't usually tell me until later."

There was a moment of silence in the room.

"I-I'm gonna miss you Troy." she suddenly said, "You were the only one that treated me like a normal person instead of a freaky math girl who just happened to try to commit suicide."

A smile appeared on his handsome face as she suddenly intertwined their hands.

"I'm gonna miss you to."

There was a sudden knock on the window, which signaled that it was the end of their session. Troy looked at the door and cursed Dr. Sullivan for letting people who don't care about Gabriella take her away.

He sighed as he looked back at her.

"I have to go." he said as he stood up.

She nodded her head as she stood up as well and followed him to the door, their hands still intertwined with each others.

They stopped in front of the door and stood facing each other. He gently touched her face and pushed a curl behind her ear. He let go of her hand and cupped her face with both of his hands. She reached up and placed her hands on his arms.

It was in that moment that Troy decided that she never looked so beautiful. Her lips were nicely curved under her cute little nose. He felt like he could get lost in those big chocolate eyes. He wanted to hug her and kiss her and do things to her no one would ever do.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." he whispered before he did the unimaginable.

He slowly closed the gap between them and allowed their lips to gently touch.

Troy couldn't believe what he was doing. He couldn't believe that he was kissing _the _Gabriella Montez, the same Gabriella Montez who tried to kill herself a week ago.

Her lips were surprisingly soft and moist. He loved the feeling of his lips against her own and the tingling sensation that he felt every time she kissed him back. He felt like pushing her against the wall and plastering her with sweet kisses until she cried his name. He felt like he could stay there with her forever. However, a sudden knock on the window caused the two to break apart.

Millions of thoughts were running through his head as their lips slowly parted away from each other. He looked down at her as her eyes slowly opened. He met her eyes that had so much want and passion.

"I really don't want to say bye." he said.

"I know." She said as she let go of his arms.

His face fell at the sudden loss of contact. He let her face go and walked towards the door.

"I'll tell Dr. Sullivan to give you my address so we could…you know…keep in touch."

She gave him another smile, "Yea…I'd like that."

"Bye Gaby."

"B-Bye Troy."

He gave her the famous Troy Bolton smile before he took one last look at her and left the room.

She stood there, watching the door shut behind him. She closed her eyes for a minute before she suddenly opened them again. Small tears began to fall from her eyes as she let out a shaky breath.

"_There's a lot you don't know."_

She began to sing softly as the tears started to fall freely.

"_There's a lot you don't know.  
And there's a lot I can't tell.  
Would you think I'm crazy if you knew me that well?"_

By now, she had walked back towards her bed. She slowly sat down and stared at the wall that had been her companion before Troy arrived.

"_Cause there's a lot you don't know  
but you say you won't go and I'd like to believe you."_

She laid back on the bed and spread out her arms. Her eyes began to burn from the tears leaking out.

"_But I know there's no one left to save me."_

* * *

"He's taking her tomorrow."

"You sure about that?"

"Yea, I just saw him get in his car with some paper work. It looked really important from what I could see."

"I'll get my men right on it."

"What about the boy?"

A dark laugh suddenly filled the earpiece.

"Don't worry about him. I'll deal with him myself. Besides, I think its time I pay Mr. Bolton a little visit."

* * *

**-Insert dramatic music here-**

**LOL!**

**I hope you guys liked it! I worked hard considering I was in a bit of a rush. Please don't forget to REVIEW! I'm taking my phone with me so I'll be able to check my e-mail and reply to you guys. So yea, I have to leave for the airport now but please don't forget to REVIEW!**

**P.S. The first song is called **_Snow (Hey Oh)_** by The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the second is called **_Save Me_** by The Pierces. Go check them out!**

**P.P.S. Here are the translations to some of the words for those of you who don't speak Spanish…. **

_Mija –_ **daughter**

_Mira Mija-_ **Look daughter**

_Lo siento-_ **I'm sorry**

_Pero mira-_ **but look**

_Estas lista? -_ **Are you ready?**


	15. Vanished

**Greetings from Mexico!**

**My trip has been fun so far. Seeing all my family together again is such a blast! I've been EVERYWHERE and I haven't had much time to update. Luckily, we decided to stay in today and my cousin let me use her computer. YAY! I absolutely love her right now! LOL!**

**Thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate all of them. They all make me laugh and smile so much! You guys are all really sweet and I LOVE you ALL! With that being said, I want to dedicate this chapter to **_sort of forever. _**for making a BEAUTIFUL banner for my story. Go check it out on my profile! I'm currently trying to make a trailer for this story on youtube but I'm having a really hard time putting the movie on my computer. But I'll get it eventually. If you guys want to make banners for my story go right ahead and I'll put it on my profile!**

**Oh yea, and before I forget, I made a C2 community called **_Troy – Gabri + ella Troyella_**. Go check it out! I put the best Troyella stories that I've read so far. So, yea. **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Sunday is a day that is usually known as a day of rest. It is a day that people can stop and relax from the massive hangover they had from the night before and a day where lunch or dinner with the family was at the top of everybody's list.

However on this particular Sunday morning, Jaime Sullivan was doing anything but relaxing. She was currently pacing back and forth in her office, contemplating whether releasing Gabriella is the best thing to do. Mr. Kent was due to arrive at any minute to take her away. She had tried to get into contact with Dr. Benton all last night and morning, but had failed miserably. Now, all there was for her to do was wait as the minutes ticked away on the clock above Jaime's desk. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when Bobby walked into her office until she literally bumped into him.

"Bobby!" she yelled as she rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry Jaime," he said, "But you should really watch where you're going."

Jaime just rolled her eyes before she went to take her seat behind her desk.

"What do you want Bobby?" she asked.

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up." he said as he sat in the chair in front of her.

Jaime let out another sigh, "Alright I guess. I-mean there's nothing I can do anymore. I've called Dr. Benton so many times that I've filled up his voice mail box."

"Don't worry Jaime," he said, "I'm sure everything's going to turn out fine."

"I hope so."

There was a comfortable silence between the two as the clock continued to let out its continuous clicking sound.

"So," said Bobby, breaking the silence, "where's Troy?"

"I gave him the day off. Why bother having him hang around here when Gabriella's leaving?"

"True." said Bobby as he nodded his head, "What are you going to do about him? I-mean I don't know about you, but I would hate it if I suddenly went back to janitor duty after I was promised to have my hours done earlier."

"I know," she said, "That's why he's coming back tomorrow so I could just sign the papers so he could leave. I-mean what else can he do here? Gabriella was the only reason he had to come. But now that she's leaving, I see no use in keeping him around."

"I guess you're right."

There was another comfortable silence.

"So," said Jaime as she looked at her friend, "What else do you want?"

Bobby cocked an eyebrow, "What do you mean, what else do I want?"

Jaime rolled her eyes, "Don't look at me like that Bobby. I've known you too long to know that you just didn't come in here to ask about our janitor."

Bobby gave a defeated sigh, "Ok, you caught me. I was actually looking for Alice. Have you seen her?"

Jaime shook her head, "No. Last time I checked she was at the front desk."

Bobby nodded his head before a ringing was heard. He took out his phone from his pocket and gave a small sigh, "I'll be back." He said.

Jaime just nodded her head as he stepped out to take the phone call.

Minutes seemed to pass as Jaime sat at her desk, drumming her fingers over the desktop. She looked at the clock on her computer monitor and noticed that it was 9:30.

'_Hmm,"_ she thought, _'that's odd, Mr. Kent should have been here by now.'_

Once again, she thought back to the argument she had with Mr. Kent. How could he be so dense to believe that Gabriella would do better somewhere else? What if it didn't work? What if instead of helping her, they're just harming her? What if she ends up in the hospital again? What if she actually succeeds in killing herself?

'_This is an outrage!'_

It's not her fault that Gabriella couldn't open up! It's not her fault that someone was following the poor girl! As Jaime sat there in her office, she tried to compile a list of people she could blame.

She blamed Gabriella's foster mom for not taking the time to actually get to know the girl. She blamed Dr. Benton for giving her a patient like Gabriella. She blamed Bobby for not wanting to talk to Gabriella like she had asked him. She blamed Alice for giving her terrible news every time she saw her. She blamed Troy for not getting her talk to doctors. But most of all, she blame herself for not getting her to open up and for not helping her throughout her stay at the hospital.

Yes, although it was much, _much _easier to blame others, Jaime had realized that she had no one to blame but herself. Maybe, if she would have tried just a bit harder, then Gabriella wouldn't have to leave and she wouldn't feel as guilty as she did now.

Jaime was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost jumped out of her seat when Alice ran into the room.

"A-Alice," she said as she noticed the flustered expression on the receptionists face, "w-what's wrong."

"W-Where's Bobby?" asked Alice.

"It's funny you ask that because he was asking for you too, but he had to step out and take a call. Why? What's wrong?"

"I heard something that I think you guys should both know."

"Well, what is it?" asked Jaime, a bit anxious.

"I-I just got off the phone with…"

"Sorry about that Jaime, it was my girlfriend. She just wanted to know when I was going home." said Bobby as he walked back into the office. He suddenly stopped in his tracks when he noticed that Alice was also in the room.

"Hey Alice." He said, "I was looking for you."

"Can't it wait?" asked Jaime, "She was just about to tell me something. It's something that she says we both should hear."

"Oh," said Bobby as he sat in one of the chairs, "well go ahead."

"As I was saying," said Alice, "I just got off the phone with Mr. Kent's assistant."

"What did he say?" asked Jaime.

"H-He said that Mr. Kent was found dead in his hotel room this morning."

"Dead?!" gasped Jaime.

Alice nodded her head, "Yes, dead."

"Oh my god!" said Jaime as she brought her hand to cover her mouth.

This just couldn't be happening. How could the man she had been arguing with for the last days suddenly be found dead?

"Are you sure?" asked Jaime.

Alice nodded her head, "Yes, he just called me this morning."

Jaime looked at Bobby and noticed that he just sat there with no emotion or expression on his face. It was almost as if he seemed unfazed by the news they just heard. She suddenly gasped when he looked up and met his eyes with hers.

Instead of seeing his usually calm blue eyes, she was shocked when he found them cold and icy. They suddenly became darker with intensity and anger.

He let out a small sigh as he looked up at Alice who seemed a bit shocked at the glare he sent her way.

"This is bullshit." he said as he ripped his eyes away from Alice, "How can he be dead?"

Alice shrugged her shoulders as she tried to pry her eyes away from his cold stare, "I-I don't know. He said they found him with gunshot wounds in his stomach."

He sighed again as he looked back at Jaime.

"What are we going to do now?" he asked in a much calmer voice.

Jaime sighed before she looked at the two adults in the room, "I-I don't know."

* * *

"C'mon Chad!" yelled Troy from the bottom of the stairway, "We have to get to the rink early if we want to beat the crowd!"

His bushy haired friend slowly limped down the stairs, "Hey, why don't _you_ try going down the stairs with a cast on your leg?"

Troy just rolled his eyes as Chad finally made it down the stairs and limped towards the living room with his crutches under each arm.

"You know," said Troy as he walked after his friend, "You're lucky that I actually let you in my house. Most people would just laugh at your stupidity and not even acknowledge you _or_ your broken leg."

"Well it's not my fault that I fell down the stairs!"

"Yea, just like it wasn't your fault that Taylor's dad caught you guys fucking around and that's why you had to leave her house before he could catch you guys again."

"It's not my fault she can't resist this."

"Right." said Troy in an unbelievable tone.

"Hey at least I'm getting some instead of working with psychotic people! I'm sorry that you're miserable while I'm getting my action."

Troy stopped to think for a moment and inwardly smirked at how untrue Chad's statement was. He wasn't miserable. He hadn't been miserable since Gabriella happened.

A small smile appeared on his lips as he suddenly remembered the soft kiss he shared with her before he left. He remembered her round, moist lips and the feel of her small hands against his rough ones. He still felt the tingling sensation he felt when Gabriella kissed him back. He couldn't believe that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. It was undeniable. He was certainly beginning to fall for her.

However, as much as Troy wanted to be with her, he knew that it would never happen, not as long as she's leaving. He gave a loud sigh as he realized how much he's going to miss her. He was going to miss her petite body and her dark eyes. He was going to miss her long, wavy hair and her deadly voice. However, what he was going to miss the most about her was her soft angelic singing voice that filled his ears almost every time she sang.

Yes. Troy Bolton, East High's basketball captain and Albuquerque Hospital's resident janitor was going to miss Gabriella Montez, the freaky math suicidal girl. He was going to miss her so much that last night, before he went to bed, he added something to the list of things he _really_ wanted to do. There, on his list, right above going sky diving, he added _finding Gabriella Montez_.

"Troy?" he heard Chad say as he snapped back to reality.

Troy turned to look at his friend.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you ok?"

"Umm…yea," he said as he scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I just kind of zoned out for a bit."

"Yea, you seemed to be doing that a lot lately. What are they feeding you at that hospital?"

Troy rolled his eyes, "Where's Emily at?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her all morning."

"Chad, I told you to wake her up for me!"

"You also told me to hurry my ass up and change. I couldn't do both with a cast on my leg! So I figured that I could only do one or the other." he said as elevated his foot on a pillow and laid back on the couch.

"Ugh! Chad, I'm going to kill you!" said Troy as he ran up the stairs.

He walked towards Emily's room and knocked on the door twice.

"Emily, time to get up!" he yelled. However, he received no response from the other side.

He knocked again, "Emily, if you want to go ice skating you better get up now!"

Still, he got nothing. Troy sighed as he knocked harder this time.

"Emily if you don't get out here right now, I'm leaving with out you!"

He was once again met with silence. Frustrated, Troy banged on the door before he opened it.

"Emily get u-up…" he stopped in mid sentence and looked around.

There was no one in the room. The sheets were thrown back giving the impression that she had gotten out of bed. The clothes that Troy had laid out for her last night were also gone along with her boots and her skates.

That was odd. He could have sworn he didn't see her at all morning. He rolled his eyes and stepped out into the hall.

"Emily! Where are you?" he yelled as he looked in the hall closet as well as his parent's room and the bathroom.

"Emily, we don't have time for this!" he yelled again as he opened his bedroom door only to find it exactly as he had left it. He walked over to his closet, but found nothing there.

He sighed as he walked out into the hall and down the stairs.

"Emily c'mon we have to go! It's not time to play!" he yelled as he walked into the kitchen and found it vacant. He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room and found Chad in the same place he had left him before.

"Chad," he said, "Have you seen her come down here?"

Chad shook his head, "No, I told you I haven't seen her all morning."

"That's weird, she wasn't upstairs."

"Maybe she's in the basement or something."

Troy shook his head, "No she's afraid of going down there. She wouldn't be caught dead in there."

Chad shrugged his shoulders, "Well, she's a big girl now. Maybe she grew out of it."

Troy nodded his head before he headed towards the back of the house. Once he reached the door leading to the basement, he opened it and made sure to flick the light on first.

"Emily?" he said as he slowly walked down the steps, "Are you here?"

He reached the bottom on the steps and looked around. He found nothing but an old couch, boxes and an old mouse trap.

He groaned in frustration as he ran back up the stairs.

"She's not there." he told Chad as he walked back into the living room.

"That's weird." said Chad, "Maybe you didn't look hard enough."

Troy groaned again as he ran up the stairs.

"Emily!" he yelled, "This isn't funny anymore!"

He looked in every room only to find no one there. He walked down the steps once again but stopped when he was halfway down.

"Alright, I give up!" he yelled to no one in particular, "Come out now! You win! I can't find you!"

He looked down towards the front door and noticed something on the floor that he hadn't noticed before. He walked down the stairs and bent down to examine what he found. There, lying on the floor was Rosy, Emily's teddy bear, the one that she wouldn't go anywhere without.

'_How did this get down here?'_ he asked himself.

He suddenly looked towards the door and gasped. His eyes threatened to jump out of their sockets as he stared at the sliding lock that was now snapped in half. He walked closer to the door and noticed that it was slightly cracked open. He gasped again as he suddenly realized that someone had broken into his house. He suddenly yanked the door open and ran outside.

"Oh, God! Emily!" he yelled as he looked up and down the street. However there was no one there. There were no cars parked on the street except for his own. There was no sign of life as he ran down the street yelling her name as if he expected her to just jump out from behind a tree. He didn't know where he was going. He couldn't see anything. His vision was blurred with tears that were falling freely form his eyes. His breath was getting shaky now. He felt like his heart was going to jump out from his chest in any minute. His head was pounding as he ran in the middle of the street and looked back forth.

"Emily!"

He started to breathe heavily. No, this couldn't be happening. Not to him or to Emily. How could someone just walk in un-noticed and take her from her bed? How can they take her away from right under his nose? Why did he not check on her during the night like his parents usually did? Why didn't he double check the locks last night? Why? WHY?

"Emily!" he yelled again as he ran back towards his house.

He stopped in the middle of the yard and looked around again. He was about to yell again when he suddenly heard a ringing noise come from his pocket. He reached down and took out a sleek phone that Troy swore he had never seen before in his life. He looked at the caller ID but found that the number was restricted. He slowly opened the phone and spoke into it.

"H-Hello?" he said with a shaky voice.

"What's your worse fear Troy?" said a deep, intimidating voice.

"Who is this?"

"We have Emily"

Troy took in a shaky breath, "What the fuck did you bastards do with her?"

"Now don't worry, Emily's fine. She's quiet comfortable actually, although she does miss this Rosy person but other than that, she's just fine."

"I don't believe you!"

"Fine, don't."

"Let me talk to her."

"I don't think so."

"Please!" yelled Troy as tears began to spill out of his eyes.

The voice sighed, "Fine, but after this you shut up and listen, got it?"

Troy nodded his head even though he knew the speaker wouldn't be able to see him.

"T-Troy?" said a small, meek voice.

"Emily!" he said.

"Troy, I wanna go home! Why can't I go home?"

"You will! I promise I'll go and get you alright? I'm not gonna let any of those bastards hurt you."

"That's enough Mr. Bolton." He heard the voice say again.

"No, please! What are you going to do with her?"

"I've already let you talk Mr. Bolton. If you want your Emily to be kept safe, then I suggest you shut up and listen. Got it?"

Troy once again nodded his head.

"Now, I'm aware that you've become a rather close acquaintance with a certain Gabriella Montez, or should I say Alexandra or Natasha, maybe even Violet or Becca?"

Alexandra? Violet? Why did all these names sound so familiar?

"W-What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. She hasn't told you yet, has she?" the voice let out a dark laugh that sent shivers up Troy's spine.

"W-What are you talking about?" asked Troy. He failed to see how Gabriella could have anything to do with the disappearance of his sister.

"Lets just say that Gabriella Montez is not who you think she is."

"I-I don't understand. What does she have to do with Emily?"

"Just about everything. She has something that I want. It is a six digit number that's locked away inside her troubled mind. All you have to do is get that number for me. When you do, Emily can go home."

"T-That's it?"

"Yes, it's that simple."

"B-But she's supposed to be leaving today."

"Don't worry about that. Ms. Montez's trip is being temporarily postponed. So, do we have a deal?"

Troy let out a shaky breath. If he didn't do this then Emily would be gone forever, not to mention that his parents would never be able to look him in the eyes again. If he didn't do this, then he would never be able to live with himself. Emily was the only person in this world that mattered to Troy. He had to do this, because if he didn't, then he would have nothing more to live for.

"Deal." he said into the mouthpiece.

"Good. Now here are the rules." said the dark voice, "Rule number one, don't say a word. If you do, you can say bye to Emily. Rule number two, I make the demands, not you, and rule number three, always answer the phone. Got that?"

"Yea."

"Now, you have exactly 96 hours to get that number for me. I suggest you start now."

"W-What if I can't get it by then? Y-You're not gonna kill her are you?"

The voice laughed again, "Now what ever gave you that idea?"

Troy gave a relieved sigh but was quickly cut off when he heard the voice laugh again.

"It would be such a waste. I have some friend that would love to have Emily around for their _special_ needs."

"I swear if you touch her, I'll…"

"You'll what? Hit me in the head with a basketball?" he laughed again, "You're already wasting time by threatening me. Now go inside and make sure your friend doesn't break his other leg by falling off the couch."

Troy gasped as he ran inside towards the living room. He felt his eyes widen even more when he saw Chad struggling to stay on the couch while reaching for the remote. He quickly went over and helped Chad stay on the couch before he stood up and looked around.

"That's right." said the voice, "I can see you and I can hear you. Where ever you go, you will be followed. You got that? So I suggest that you be smart and do exactly what I tell you to do. Remember you have 96 hours…well…its more like 95 hours with 45 minutes left."

Troy nodded his head, now fully aware that whatever he did, he was being watched.

"Good, now go and hurry. We don't want little Emily to miss her ice-skating trip, right?" said the voice before the line suddenly went dead.

* * *

**Insert dramatic music here!**

**LOL!**

**Sorry if there's some spelling or grammar mistakes. Since my cousins computer is programmed to do the spell/grammar check in Spanish. I tried hard an re-read everything so I hope its fine.**

**Please REVIEW! They make me happy! If I get enough I'll update the first day I get back which is Tuesday. So, yea.**

**P.S. I put a poll about this story up in my profile. So please go check it out and VOTE!**


	16. Blackout

**Hey guys!**

**I'm finally back so that means that it's time for the next chapter!**

**Now before you guys say anything, I'm SOOOO sorry about the long wait. I had the worst flu when I got back home and needed to catch up on some much needed summer reading. But I'm back now.**

**Thanks to everyone who took the time to review. You guys are the reason I update…LOL! Here's a special thanks and dedication to **_jakelsx_ **for sending me the most heartwarming review! Thank you SO much! Your review meant a lot to me just as mush as all the others. Thanks again!**

**Oh yea, and I also want to make a shout out to those people who realized that they have in fact seen the movie that my story is based on because they have assured me that they will indeed keep on reading. So thanks you guys! **

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

"What about Jaime? How is Troy supposed to get to Gabriella if she won't even leave her door?"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of that. Just make sure that whatever she's doing, she's as far away from Gabriella as possible and make sure to keep an eye on her wherever she goes."

"But how?"

"I told you that I'll think of something. Just keep doing your job and make sure that no one suspects a thing about you. Got that?"

There was a hesitant sigh, "Y-Yea…I got that."

* * *

"Troy, what the fuck is going on?" asked Chad as he struggled to keep up with Troy's pace as he followed him up the stairs.

Troy did nothing but run towards his room. Chad heaved a loud sigh as he leaned on the door railing. He watched his friend as he picked up his dirty clothes from the floor.

"Troy, dude…what is going on?"

Troy meanwhile picked up a pair of pants that he had worn the day before. He reached inside his pockets and felt around until his fingers made contact with the thin sheets of papers he had so absentmindedly stuffed into his pocket the day before. His hands were shaking as he carefully unfolded them.

"Troy, are you gonna tell me what happened?" he heard Chad ask him.

Troy ignored his friend as he carefully read through the papers, "Alexandra, age 14, Sacramento California…Natasha, age 15, Seattle Washington…Karen, age 15, Boston Massachusetts…Becca, age 16, Phoenix Arizona…Bailey-Marie, age 16, San Diego California…Alexia, age 16, El Paso Texas…Violet, age 17, New York City New York…"

Chad's face scrunched up in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"…Gabriella Montez, age 17, Albuquerque New Mexico…"

Chad almost choked on his spit at the mention of the suicidal girl, "Gabriella? You mean freaky math suicidal girl?"

"I can't believe it." said Troy in low voice, "S-She lied to me."

"What are you talking about? What about Gabriella?"

"Everything she told me was a lie." said Troy as he crumbled the papers in his hands.

Chad was getting even more frustrated as he watched his best friend angrily stuff the papers in his pockets. He swore that if it weren't for the crutches under his arms, he would have walked up to Troy and shook him until he told him what had happened.

"What is a lie?"

Troy looked up at his bushy haired friend. He hadn't even realized that Chad had followed him up the stairs.

"Troy, what is going on?"

"They took her." he said as he walked out the room with Chad behind his trail.

"Took Who?"

"Emily." said Troy as he suddenly stopped at the foot of the stairs.

Chad gasped as he limped down the stairs, "What! Who?"

Troy turned to look at his friend. It was then that Chad realized how turbulent his eyes had become. The whites of his eyes were filled with thin red lines that crisscrossed around the blue pools. The blue in those eyes suddenly became darker, almost a dark gray color. However, what scared Chad the most was the fact that his normally dark irises held a small hint of red fury.

"I-I don't know." he said as he walked into the kitchen.

Chad limped into the kitchen, "Are you gonna call the cops?"

"I can't." said Troy as he reached for his car keys.

"What do you mean you can't?"

Troy ignored his friends as he walked back into the living room to look for his jacket. Chad followed closely behind him.

"Troy, Emily was just kidnapped and you're gonna stand here and do nothing? You have to call the cops."

Troy reached his jacket and put it on.

"No I don't."

"Why not?"

By this time Troy was trying to walk out the door, but was being blocked by Chad.

"Chad," he said with anger strongly evident in his voice, "get out of my way."

"Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on. Who called you on the phone? Huh?"

The two friends faced off with each other. Troy's clenched his fist until he felt his nails dig into his palms. His mouth formed a tight line under his flared nostrils.

"I swear to God Chad, if you don't get the fuck out of my way I'll make sure that you never play basketball again, let alone walk." he said in a low dangerous voice.

Chad tried to make himself stand up straighter. His encased leg started to hurt a little as he applied more pressure to it. He wanted to stand tall, to be the bigger man. He wanted to show Troy that this would be the one time that he would not back down. Not until his 'best friend' told him everything.

"I already told you, not until you tell me what's going on. Who took Emily and what does that freak have to do with any of this?"

At the mention of Gabriella, something in Troy snapped. He grabbed Chad by his collar and pushed him up against the door.

"Don't you _ever_ fucking call her that! You hear?!" said Troy with fury written all over his face.

Chad's eyes widened when he felt his back hit the door. He gasped as a sudden realization came to his mind.

"S-She…she's at that hospital isn't she? You've been talking to her haven't you? She's the reason why you're always 'tired'…isn't she Troy?"

Troy did nothing but tighten the grip he had on Chad's collar.

"Troy…" said Chad as he noticed Troy's eyes become darker and the red glint become brighter, "are…are you fucking around with her?"

Troy gripped Chad's collar even tighter, almost cutting off his airwaves.

"You…you fell for her…didn't you?" asked Chad.

"I don't have to answer any of your shit. All I need is for you to get the fuck out of my way!"

"Is that why you're still holding me up against the door?"

Troy suddenly let go of Chad and ran his hand through his hair.

"Troy, I'm your best friend…at least I used to be. Tell me what's going on, and what does Gabriella have to do with it?"

Troy looked away and briefly looked at the clock above the mantel. He had 95 hours left.

"Answer the question Troy. Were you screwing her and broke her heart and she took Emily for revenge?"

"Look it's not like that ok." sighed Troy in a somewhat calmer voice, "Am I screwing her? No. Did I fall for her? Yes. Did she take Emily? No, but she knows the bastards who did."

Troy paused and let his words settle in Chad's head.

"I have four days Chad…four _fucking_ days to get something for them from Gabriella, and if I don't get it, then they're gonna make Emily someone's sex slave or worse…kill her."

Chad gasped as he watched his friend silently break in front of him.

"I-I can't let them do that Chad. Not to Emily. N-Not after I fucking promised her that I would never _ever_ let anyone hurt her."

Chad limped towards Troy and gave him a manly hug, "It's ok Troy. Everything's gonna be ok. You're gonna get her back. I know you man. You never back down on your word." he released Troy and met his eyes which seemed to have calm down a bit, "But you can't do it alone. You need help. You have to call the police."

Troy shook his head, "No, I can't. I promised him I wouldn't say a word. If I do, they'll definitely kill her."

"But what about your parents?"

"They can't know. No one can know, especially them. Only me and you."

Chad nodded and slowly stepped away from the door, "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to stay here and keep a look out. If my parents call, just tell them we're out or make something up. If anyone stops by, tell them to go away. Don't let anyone in. I mean it Chad, not even Taylor."

"Alright, alright." said Chad as he put his hands up in defense, "I get it. Not a soul."

"This is serious. It's not safe here. They can see us and they can hear us and if anyone comes, they could be in danger."

"Wait. If it's so dangerous, then why do I have to stay? Shouldn't I go home and hide or something?"

Troy shook his head, "I told you that they can see and hear everything we say. That means that whoever the hell this bastard is knows that you know what's going on. If you leave, you can be in even more danger because they don't know what you're gonna do."

Chad nodded his head as Troy opened the door. He was about to close it when he heard Chad call his name.

"Good luck captain." he said.

Troy nodded his head before he walked out of the house that now seemed so empty with out Emily.

* * *

Jaime paced back and forth in front of Gabriella's room. The news that Alice had for her and Bobby had definitely shocked her. What was going to happen now? Would they send someone else to come pick Gabriella up? She didn't know. All she knew was that this had to stop.

Gabriella's life was in danger and she was sure that whoever else that was somehow involved with her was in danger as well. This meant herself as well as Bobby and maybe even Alice. She didn't know what she was going to do or what she should do. Should she call the police or should she just wait until social services send someone new to pick her up?

These thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she heard a door open. She looked towards the direction of the door and noticed Alice stomp out angrily from the break room.

"Alice?" asked Jaime as the brunette walked past her with out looking at her. She looked back towards the break room and noticed Bobby walk out with his hands in his pocket and an unreadable expression on is face.

"What was that about?" she asked him as he walked up to her.

Bobby shrugged his shoulders, "I umm…I kind of turned her down."

Jaime felt her eyebrow arch, "Turned her down? For what? A date?"

"Something like that."

Jaime rolled her eyes.

"So what are we gonna do about Gabriella?" he asked as they both began to walk down the hall.

"I still don't know." sighed Jaime, "Half of me is relieved that she's staying because that means that I can help her. But the other half is a bit scared."

"What do you mean?"

"I-mean, what if it becomes too dangerous? What if the people who are after her decide that they need to come after people like you and me?"

She suddenly felt Bobby stop beside her. She turned to face him before she felt his hands on her shoulders.

"Jaime," he said, "you don't have to worry about anything like that happening. I promise you that nothing will happen to you. I'll make sure of that."

A small vibration was heard. Bobby sighed as he reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

"I umm…I should take this." he said as he looked at the caller ID.

Jaime just nodded her head as she stepped away from him and continued to walk towards the front desk in the reception area. She looked towards the desk and found Alice talking on the phone.

"…Yes sir, I'll send them up right away." said Alice before she hung up the phone.

"Who was that Alice?" asked Jaime.

"That was Dr. Woods."

"As in Dr. Benton's boss?"

Alice nodded her head, "Yes, he wants to see you and _Bobby_ right away."

Jaime rolled her eyes when she mention Bobby's name with disgust. Seriously, Bobby has a girlfriend. What made her think that he would say yes to her? Not that she isn't attractive, but c'mon. He practically talks to the girl everyday.

"So," said Jaime as she waited for Bobby, "What happened back there between you two?"

Alice suddenly looked up from the computer screen.

"Umm…what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb Alice. Bobby told me that he turned you down."

Alice suddenly gasped, "Oh he did, did he?"

Jaime nodded her head.

"Well for you information, I turned him down. Not the other way around!"

Confusion came upon Jaime's face, "But…then why did you come out angry?"

"Let's just say that Bobby thinks that it's ok to put people down when he doesn't get what he wants from them."

Jaime's mouth formed and 'O' shape as she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Alice looked up and narrowed her eyes.

"Bobby." she said with anger in her voice.

"Hello Alice. Long time no see." he responded in a natural cool voice.

Jaime felt the tension in the room and looked towards the elevator.

"Well," she said, "Bobby and I should go see Dr. Woods now."

Bobby nodded his head even though the look on his face showed that he had no idea what Jaime was talking about. He walked towards the elevator to push the 'UP" button.

"You know what?" asked Jaime as she stood in front of the sliding doors with her hands on her hips, "I kind of feel like taking the stairs."

Bobby and Alice looked at Jaime with arched eyebrows.

"W-Why would you want to do that?" asked Bobby.

Jaime shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I just do. C'mon."

She grabbed Bobby by his wrist and started to drag him towards the stairs.

"But Jaime, he's on the top floor." said Bobby as he pulled his hand away from her grip.

Jaime rolled her eyes, "Oh c'mon Bobby."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Bobby's right." said Alice, "It could take a while and Dr. Woods sounded kind of urgent."

Jaime sighed in defeat as the doors slid open. She walked into the elevator with Bobby and waited for them to close.

"Wait!" yelled Alice almost ran after them, "I'll go with you. I almost forgot that I have to leave these papers upstairs."

Alice was about to get on the elevator with them. However, as she was about to step in, Bobby blocked her with his arm and gave her an icy glare to which she responded with one of her own.

"Bobby, what are you doing?" asked Jaime.

Bobby looked back at Jaime and offered her a lazy smile, "I just think that someone should stay here and watch over the floor."

"But these are urgent! They were faxed over by Dr. Benton this morning." yelled Alice.

"I'll be happy to take them for you."

He reached for the papers. However, Alice quickly took them out of his reach and let out a loud huff.

"No thank you."

"Fine." said Bobby as he leaned against the steel wall next to Jaime, "You'll just have to wait, or better yet, take the stairs."

"Fine, I will!" she yelled just as the doors closed.

She looked towards the stairs and gave another loud huff.

"Asshole." She muttered under her breath as she ascended the stairs.

* * *

Troy ran into the hospital, completely ignoring the nurse who yelled at him for running in the hall. He ran past the waiting room towards the elevators. While he waited for them, he slowly began to catch his breath. He looked around at the different doctors and patients that walked by.

His eyes fell upon a dirty man who sat upon a stretcher. He held onto his leg as he complained to one of the nurses about the pain and asked for something to numb it. The nurse just shook her head and scribbled something on a clip board.

He heard two nurses next to him say that the man was a regular who always came in asking for drugs.

'_Good.'_ thought Troy, _'They spotted a fake. Something I should have done from the beginning.'_

A sudden ringing took Troy away from his thoughts. He reached in his pocket for the sleek phone and opened it.

"Are you there yet?" asked the dark voice.

"Y-Yea. I'm waiting for the elevator."

"I would take the stairs, if I were you."

Troy looked around before he spotted the stairs.

"W-Why's that?" he asked as he slowly stepped towards them.

The lights suddenly started to flash above him before they suddenly went off.

"That's why." said the voice.

"Ok." said Troy as he began his way up the stairs.

"Now remember," continued the voice, "go in there and get that number for me. I will accept nothing less."

"But how am I supposed to talk to her if Dr. Sullivan won't leave her alone?"

"Don't worry about that. Just get up there and get that number for me."

Troy nodded his head before he heard the line go dead.

* * *

"I don't understand why you just wouldn't let her on." said Jaime as she leaned against the steel wall in the elevator.

"I told you, someone had to stay. What if social services called to talk about Gabriella?"

Jaime sighed as she realized that her friend had a point.

"Besides, it's not like she was needed and if those papers were really urgent like she said they were, she would have just given them to me."

Jaime nodded her head in agreement. However, she stopped nodding her head when she suddenly heard a noise coming from above them.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Bobby.

"Hear what?"

Suddenly, the lights started to flicker before they felt the elevator stop completely.

"Bobby?" she asked as she searched for her friend in the darkness.

"Y-Yea?" she heard him say.

"W-What just happened?"

"I umm…I think the power just went off."

* * *

**So, how was it? Good? Bad?**

**I guess you could say it was kind of a filler but then again I think that it's kind of important to show what role Chad might play in this story and how Troy feels about the whole Gabriella situation. Plus, I wanted to build up the suspense…LOL!**

**So, now I'm off to watch **_So You Think You Can Dance?_

**I absolutely LOVE that show!**

**LOL!**

**Please don't forget to REVIEW! **


	17. Is It A Code?

**Hey guys!**

**I'm back with a new chapter that I hope meets your expectations. Although I should warn you that it does kind of jump back and forth a bit.**

**Wow…13 reviews! You guys ROCK! I want to thank everyone for all reviews. They all make me want to update sooner! LOL! **

**I want to dedicate this chapter to **_FaithsFire _**for sending me a really great/sweet review. Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope you like this chapter as well!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but a girl can dream right??**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

There are certain times in life when one discovers that not all is as it seems. They begin to question whether or not the people around them are truly who they say they are. Are they in fact real people who care about you? Or are they just 'real' people who say they care about you when in fact they're planning your downfall?

What about your life?

Are you living the life that you want to live? Or are you just simply living the life that society says you should? If you are living the life you want, do you count your lucky stars and thank God for living a blessed life?

But what about if you don't live the life you want? Did you do anything to deserve you so called 'shitty' life?

Did you turn in all your school assignments on time? Do you respect your parents? Do you lie? Do you cheat? Did you at anytime do something that hurt someone else?

These questions were currently bouncing around the corners of a certain blue-eyed basketball captain as he stood, facing the door to Gabriella's room.

True, Troy has lied more than once and has in fact cheated on a test and occasionally on poker, unbeknownst to Chad and his other friends. But was that really enough to get Emily taken away from him? And what about Emily? What had she ever done? Sure, she's lied about eating a cookie or two before dinner, but that's it. What did this innocent little girl do to be taken away from her home? From him?

He looked around the dim hallway as if he was waiting for someone to stop him from going in the room. However, no one did. Sure, he would occasionally see and recognize a few nurses walking back and forth, attending to their patients in other rooms. However, no stopped to ask him what he was doing. No one stopped to look and ask him if he was looking for Dr. Sullivan. He doubted any one would know where she was. After all, HE did say that he would take care of any distractions.

He felt his chest rise up and down as he tried to calm his breathing as well as his temper. He knew that if he went in there out of breath and with anger written in his face then she would definitely know something was up. He slowly unclenched his fist and reached for the knob, knowing that the next conversation he will have with the deadly beauty, will forever change his life.

* * *

"So…how long has Alice been working here anyway?"

Jaime turned towards her friend who was sitting against the steel wall on the other side of the elevator. She couldn't really see him due to the fact that the power went off about ten minutes ago. They both heard the back up generators turn on. However, it didn't really help since the light was still really dim.

"Umm…I don't know. A year?" she replied.

"You don't know?"

"Well, the last time you met her also happened to be the first time you met her. So yea, I'm guessing about a year."

"Oh." she heard him say.

"Why are you so interested anyway? I thought _you_ turned her down?"

She could barely make out his eye roll in the poorly lit elevator.

"I was just curious."

She matched his eye roll with one of her own.

"_Sure_ you were."

"Whatever Jaime. I have a girlfriend, remember?"

Jaime shrugged her shoulders, "How is she anyway?"

"She's good. Still waiting for me to go back home."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"Well I can't really tell her anything now seeing as we are stuck in an elevator."

"Right. Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem."

* * *

He found Gabriella standing near the small caged window in the room with her back facing him. Her thin arms were crossed over her chest as she slowly leaned her forehead forward to rest on the glass. He heard a soft sigh escape from her round lips, the same lips he caressed in his dreams last night. The same lips he imagined would moan his name every time he touched her. The same lips he would do anything to kiss again.

No.

He couldn't let his mind wander. If he wanted Emily back, then he had to ignore and completely forget the feelings he had for her. It was the only way to get Emily back.

He heard himself clear his throat. He saw her body stiffen before she slowly turned around. Her eyes went from expressionless to confusion to surprise in less than a second as she met her chocolate eyes with his blue pools.

A smile suddenly played on her lips as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his frame.

"Troy." she said in her soft voice, "I didn't think you would come."

Troy kept his arms by his side while she hugged him which didn't go unnoticed by her. She looked up and noticed how dark and violent his eyes looked.

"W-What's wrong?" she asked.

He gently grabbed her arms and unwrapped them from his own.

"I don't know _Gabriella_." he said with malice in his voice, "Why don't you tell me?"

Her round eyes stared into his narrow slits while she slowly shook her head.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do." he said as he tightened his hold on her wrists, "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about _Alexia_."

He felt her stiffen at the mention of a past name.

"Or is it _Natasha_? No. Wait, I know, it's _Violet_ isn't it?" he taunted.

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Cut the shit Gabriella or whatever the fuck your name is."

She felt her wrists begin to throb from the grip he had on her.

"Troy," she said with anger in her voice, "let go."

"No, not until you tell me what the fuck is going on!"

"You're hurting me!" she yelled as he finally let go of her.

She heard him walk behind her as she went to sit on her bed. He stood in front of her and suddenly began to pace back and forth in front of her. He ran his hand through his hair as he felt himself getting angrier by the second. What pissed him off even more was that she just sat there staring at him, almost as if she was taunting him and daring him to ask her the questions he had in his mind.

"What do you want Troy?" she asked in a cool voice.

Her voice stopped him in his tracks. He turned to meet her eyes again and was almost shocked to see a smug smile on her face. He stood there taking in her appearance for the first time. She was no longer wearing her uniform which consisted of soft light green pants and a light green thermo shirt with elbow length sleeves. Instead, she now wore a simple blue skirt that reached almost two inches above her knee with a white muscle shirt. Her curls were cascading down over her shoulders, hiding the small bruises that had formed. To Troy, it seemed like she was radiating with beauty.

"Oh," she said, "so now you can't talk?"

He shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts.

"No? You can't talk?"

"Shut the fuck up." he said.

"I didn't say anything."

"Just shut up! Shut up and do what I tell you to do!"

"That's a little kinky, don't you think?" she said with an arched eyebrow.

Troy rolled his eyes as he dragged the chair he usually sat on and sat down in front of her, not caring if the screeching noise the chair made when it hit the tile hurt her or not.

"You don't have to act all serious, you know." she said with the same smug smile.

"I don't?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I know why you're here."

He felt his eyebrow arch, "You do?"

She nodded her head as he looked down at her hands which where slowly inching her skirt up her thigh. She ran her hands up her bare thighs as she smirked at him.

If this were any other day, Troy would have jumped at the chance to run his hands against her soft skin. But it wasn't any other day. It was the day he made a deal with a certain someone to get a certain number from a certain girl to save a certain little sister of his.

"Guess again." he said coldly.

She smiled lazily as she stretched her arms and spread her legs a bit to give him a small peak of her blue underwear underneath.

"That's too bad." she said in a somewhat seductive voice, "It would have been fun. It's obvious you haven't had a little fun in a long while."

Troy suddenly stood up and kicked the chair back.

"Oh," she said calmly, "I didn't know you liked it rough."

"Fuck you."

"It's obvious that you want to." she replied with a seductive smirk.

"Just tell me who the fuck you are!"

His outburst made her jump a bit. She hadn't expected him to yell at her since he was usually known to control his temper. However, she quickly composed herself as she tried to give another smirk.

"Now, what on earth are you talking about?" she asked innocently, "Don't you know? I'm Gabriella Montez."

"Stop the shit talk!"

"What are you talking about Troy?

"Stop lying to me! Everything that's come out of your mouth is a fucking lie!"

"And how would you know that?"

"How do I know?" he asked as he took out the crumbled papers from his pocket, "I'll tell you how I know."

He shoved the papers in her face as he paced back and forth again.

She looked down at the papers and sighed. There was no doubt that Troy knew about her past. But the question is, how much?

"All you know is was these little pieces of paper tell you, which is_ nothing_." she said.

He stopped to look at her with confusion written in his face. She smirked as she realized he knew _nothing_ about her. All he knew was that she had seven different identities. Nothing more.

"You know absolutely nothing about me."

"I think I know enough about you."

"Yea? Like what?"

He walked closer to her. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves. He crossed his arms over his chest and met her eyes.

"This isn't the first time you've done this is it?" he asked softly, "This isn't the first time you tried to kill yourself is it?"

* * *

"Remember that one time we got snowed in, in that cabin in Colorado?" asked Bobby as he stretched his legs out in front of him. It had been about twenty minutes since the power went off and he and Jaime were passing the time by reminiscing about the past.

Jaime smiled as she remembered the senior trip she and Bobby took in high school along with their other friends. It was snowing so hard that she and Bobby along with three other friends were not allowed to leave their cabin. Although being snowed in would sound bad to normal people, it was the most fun they had ever had.

"Yea, it was so much fun. Why?" she replied.

Bobby shrugged his shoulders, "Well, this kind of reminds me of that time, except there are no marshmallows over the fire, no hide and seek in the dark, and no Rick Clark sliding down the stairs on a mattress."

Jaime gave a slight chuckle, "Yup, those were the days. I've always wanted to go back there."

"I know me too. Marie would love it."

Jaime arched her eyebrow, "Who's Marie?"

Bobby looked towards Jaime, "My girlfriend, remember?"

"I-I uh…I thought her name was Jessica?"

She noticed Bobby stiffen across from her as he suddenly found his shoes more interesting than anything else in the elevator.

"I-It is." he said, "Marie's her middle name."

He looked up to meet her eyes, "She's Jessica when she bugs the hell out of me and she's Marie when I remember how much I love and miss her."

Jaime's mouth made and 'O' shape. However, for some reason, she just couldn't seem to believe her friend. Something was up with him, and she intended to find out what it was.

* * *

"Well?"

Gabriella locked her eyes with his and for the first time, noticed how hurt they were.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she said softly as she glared at him.

"You've tried to kill yourself before, haven't you?"

"You don't know anything about me!"

"No, just that you're suicidal."

She looked away from him, suddenly finding the tiled floor interesting.

"But my question is, why?" He walked towards her while he dragged the chair he kicked over in front of her, "Why would someone like you want to kill herself when she has everything going for her. I-mean you got the looks, the brains, everything to make it through whatever. And yet, you keep trying to kill yourself. Are you depressed? Are just plain out unhappy with your so called perfect life? What is it?"

"I don't have to answer you." she said while she gave him an icy glare.

"Or is it something else?" he continued, not caring if she was clenching the bed sheets with her hands until her knuckles were white.

She did nothing but glare at him. He was certain that if looks could kill, he would have definitely been six feet under by now.

"You're not so tough now are you?"

"Fuck you."

"If I remember correctly you're the one who really wanted to a couple minutes ago."

She looked down and glared at the floor as he scooted the chair closer to her.

"So what is it?" he continued, "What could possibly make you _so _pissed off that it would make you want to kill yourself?"

"…"

"Or maybe the question I should be asking is, _who_?"

She suddenly looked up to meet his eyes with a mixture of fright and fury, "What do you know?"

"Enough to know that you're running. Just like you always do. You're getting your new identity and running off to fuck up other peoples lives."

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I thought you already knew what I wanted."

She looked down at the floor again and took in a deep breath. She felt herself let go of the bed sheets and begin to draw over the sheets with her right index finger. Her eyes began to sting a bit as she tried to hold back the tears.

He lied to her.

He made her think that he really cared when he didn't. How dare he call her a liar when he had been lying to her all along. He didn't care. He never cared. All he did was use her.

But then why did he kiss her the day before?

Because he wanted to take advantage. That's why.

"You want what they want." she said softly.

Troy felt a small smile tug on his lips as he realized that he finally knew what she meant by that sentence. Now they were getting somewhere.

"Look," he said softly, "you have something that they want and there's no doubt that you have it locked away inside your fucked up mind."

She looked up to meet his eyes again. What right did he have to insult her like that? He knew _nothing_ of pain, and yet, here he is mocking her for the decisions she's made.

"All you have to do," he continued, "is tell me that six digit number that they want _so_ bad, and you're free to go."

* * *

There was a sudden jolt beneath them as both Bobby and Jaime felt the elevator move up. They squinted their eyes as the bright lights turned on as well. Bobby suddenly stood and walked the very short distance to the other side to help Jaime up as well.

"Thank God." she said as they heard the door open on the top floor, "These past thirty minutes have been hell."

"Well that's not very nice. I thought it was kind of fun." said Bobby as both doctors stepped out of the elevator. Jaime rolled her eyes and walked towards the front desk where the receptionist asked them if they needed help.

"I'm Dr. Jaime Sullivan and this is Dr. Bobby Drake," she said as she motioned towards Bobby and herself, "Dr. Woods said he wanted to see me us."

The receptionist gave them a confused look.

"Dr. Woods told you guys to come?" she asked them.

Jaime nodded her head.

"There must have been some kind of mistake." she said, "Dr. Woods is on vacation in Barbados."

* * *

The lights suddenly came back on as both Troy and Gabriella flinched at the brightness. Troy squinted his eyes to adjust to the new lights while Gabriella shielded her eyes with her hands.

After about a minute, Troy looked back at Gabriella as she concentrated on clenching her bed sheets.

"So," he said once he regained his vision, "what's it gonna be?"

There was a minute of silence as she let go of the bed sheets and began to pay with her hospital bracelet.

"_Got a secret__, __can you keep it?__  
__Swear this one you'll save."_

He unexpectedly heard her deadly melodic voice fill his ears. She suddenly looked up and met her chocolate pools with his blue ones.

"Gabriella, we don't have time for this." he said.

"_Better lock it, in your pocket__  
__Taking this one to the grave."_

A smirk started to form on her face as she noticed he was getting annoyed by the lack of her cooperation.

"Stop it." he said.

However, all she did was shake her head as she stretched her arms and rolled her head back.

"_If I show you then I know you__  
__won't tell what I said"_

She looked back at him again, the smirk making her gleam with pride and arrogance.

"You have to tell me." he said, "Now."

"_Cause two can keep a secret__  
__if one of them is dead…"_

His eyes widened at the mention of death while she inched closer to him, they're knees touching. She leaned over and put her hands on knees and moved her face closer to his.

"_Yes two can keep a secret__  
__if one of us is…. Dead."_

He looked away from her to avoid the desire he knew he had to kiss her. While he did this, he grabbed her wrists and gently pushed her back onto the bed.

"Gabriella," he said softly, no longer caring if that was her real name or not, "Tell me the number. Please?"

He released her wrists as she brought her legs up on the bed and sat Indian style, the smirk never leaving her lips.

"Nope." she said in an almost happy manner.

"Why NOT?!" he yelled angrily.

All she did was give him another smile while she shrugged her shoulders. He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.

"How about we make a deal? I'll ask you some simple yes or no questions about it and if I get two yes's, then you tell me this stupid number and then we'll both forget this ever happened."

Her eyes seemed amused as she once again shrugged her shoulders.

"Ok," he said.

He looked around the room as he tried to think of something.

"Is it a code?" he asked.

"No."

"Is it a telephone number?"

"No."

"Is it a place?"

"Nope."

"Is it an address?"

"Guess again."

His patience was being tested as he kept asking her questions which she refused to say yes to. However, what angered him the most was the fact that she seemed to be getting even more amused every time he guessed wrong.

"Is it a birthday?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Is it a locker combination?"

"No."

"Is it a serial number?"

"No."

"Is it a P.O box?"

"Nope!"

"THEN WHAT IS IT?!" He yelled before he suddenly felt two small, cold hands push him back against the chair as they forcefully closed around his neck.

* * *

**--Insert Dramatic Music Here--**

**LOL!**

**Ok, I'm not really proud of this one, but I guess It'll have to do.**

**Please REVIEW! They mean so much me to me when you do.**

**P.S. The song is called **_Secret_** by **_The Pierces_**. The link is on my profile if you wanna go check it out. **

**P. P. S. Ok, I know I might get a lot of criticism for this, but I don't really care. So, I watched the Teen Choice Awards the other night and saw the dance battle between Miley Cyrus and the ACDC crew and I got to say that I think the ACDC crew was robbed. I-mean don't get me wrong, I love Miley Cyrus and I think she's awesome and everything. But in all honesty, I think that the only reason she won was because of the fact that she **_**is**_** Miley Cyrus. I have a feeling that if the winner was chosen by professionals or by people who have absolutely no idea who Miley is (yes, I do realize how crazy that sounds), then she would have lost. The ACDC crew was totally awesome and I personally think that they were the better dancers. Miley Cyrus is a GREAT dancer, but the ACDC crew were definitely the BETTER dancers. I-mean, c'mon! Miley was getting boo-ed when they declared her the winner! **

**But on a better note, weren't Zac and Vanessa cute? Who else was a little bummed Zac didn't win male hottie? I-mean, how cute would it have been if they won together? O-well, I guess the Jonas Brothers are good enough. But I still think Zac was robbed. LOL! **

**So yea…let the flames begin…**


	18. Time In A Bottle

**Hey guys!**

**First of all, I want to apologize for not updating as frequently as I say I am. This past month has been one of the most stressful/worst months of my life. I've gotten some pretty big 'life changing pee in my pants kind of news' and I guess I just got too depressed to write. That along with my AP summer reading and an unexpected trip to San Francisco left me no time to update. But I'm back now with an update. I'm sad to say that I really don't know if I'm going to be able to update more frequently because of the fact that I'm starting school next week. Yup, I'm finally starting my senior year and I don't know how often I'll be able to update. I'll probably have to go back to updating only on the weekends or whatever. So, yea...and sice it's been so long since I've updated, I decided to add a small recap in the begining. I hope this chapter makes up for it. It is the longest chapter I have ever written with 14 1/2 pages! So please be sure to leave me some lovely reviews!**

**Second, I want to thank all who reviewed the last chapter. Thank you so much to all who take the time to push that annoying little button at the end and a very special thanks to the anonymous reviewer **_Kaitlyn_** for sending me a very heartwarming review that made me feel bad that I was keeping my story from you guys. So this chapter is dedicated to you!**

**Oh, and before I forget, I would like to take this time to recommend another amazing story to you guys. It's called **_Foolin' the World_ **by **_peacecheech_**. It's a really good story that I think has lots of potential. If you're interested, go to my favorites and look for it there and please don't forget to leave her some reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

* * *

**Recap:**

"_I'm Dr. Jaime Sullivan and this is Dr. Bobby Drake," she said as she motioned towards Bobby and herself, "Dr. Woods said he wanted to see me us."_

_The receptionist gave them a confused look._

"_Dr. Woods told you guys to come?" she asked them._

_Jaime nodded her head._

"_There must have been some kind of mistake." she said, "Dr. Woods is on vacation in Barbados."_

_--_

"_Is it a serial number?"_

"_No."_

"_Is it a P.O box?"_

"_Nope!"_

"_THEN WHAT IS IT?!" He yelled before he suddenly felt two small, cold hands push him back against the chair as they forcefully closed around his neck._

* * *

**Chapter 17**

"_If I could save time in a bottle,  
the first thing that I'd like to do,  
is to save every day till eternity passes away  
just to spend them with you"_

_The young girl looked up to meet her fathers chocolate eyes as they walked hand in hand down the street towards the bus depot. As they walked, her father thought that it would be a good idea to sing like they usually did. She quickly agreed and asked if they could sing the song that her mother had often sung while she was pregnant. Her father, although hesitant, agreed and begun to sing the song which sometimes brought tears to his eyes as the memories of his beautiful wife came back to haunt him._

"_If I could make days last forever,  
if words could make wishes come true,"_

_Their intertwined hands were being swung back and forth as they turned another corner. _

"_I'd save every day like a treasure and then,  
again, I would spend them with you"_

_The man looked down once again at his daughter eyes as she sung the last lines to the verse. He gave her a smile as he began to hum the song while they continued walking down the street._

"_Papi?" he heard his daughter ask._

"_Yes mija?" he replied._

"_Will we ever come back to visit mami?" _

_The man let out a hesitant sigh as he gripped the black duffle bag he held in his other hand tighter._

"_Maybe."_

"_Maybe?"_

"_Yes," he said as he looked down at her, "One day, in the future, when you're a lot older, we can come back and visit her."_

"_Promise?" she asked._

"_Si querida." he whispered, "I promise." _

_There were a few moments of silence as they continued walking towards the bus depot. Suddenly, the man felt an abrupt presence behind him. He quickly turned around and gasped at the sight of two men in black jackets and dark jeans getting out of a black sedan. He felt himself pull his daughter towards him as he quickened his steps. _

"_Papi!" he heard his daughter whine, "Why are we walking so fast?"_

_The man had no time to explain as he heard the two men behind him yell for him to stop. He broke out into a small jog while his young daughter was trying to keep up with him. _

"_We said STOP!" he heard one of the men yell._

"_C'mon mija, hurry." he said as he practically dragged her down the street._

"_Papi, slow down!"_

_But he couldn't slow down. Not as long as those men were chasing them. He suddenly stopped and crouched down to pick his daughter up and rested her on his hip. She wrapped her arms tightly around her father's neck as he carried her with one arm. The girl looked over his shoulder and gasped as she saw two big men run after them. She pulled herself closer to her father and stared at the men running behind them._

_What do they want? Why are they chasing after her and her papi?_

_She asked herself these questions before she felt herself take a sudden intake of breath as one of the men suddenly pulled out a gun from his jacket. _

"_Papi!" she cried as the sound of gunshots filled the air._

_The man did nothing but run faster. He was somewhat relived when he finally reached the corner that led to a busy street. However, that small sense of security quickly vanished as another black sedan suddenly pulled up in front of them. His heart almost stopped as he saw HIM get out of the car and point his gun at him and his daughter. _

"_Well hello Robert." HE said with a smug smile._

_Robert held onto his daughter tighter as HE stepped closer to them, never once aiming the gun elsewhere. The young girl turned towards the new voice and gasped as she saw HIM point his gun at them. _

_What was he doing?_

_She had seen HIM many times before and he was often nice and smiling. She knew that HE and her father were very good friends and had known each other since before she was born._

_But then why was he there, pointing a gun at them?_

"_Why so shocked?" HE asked, "It's not like you didn't know this was coming. I think you've known me long enough to know what I'm capable of."_

"_Please," said Robert, "just let us go."_

"_Not until you give me what I want."_

"_I don't know what you want."_

"_Don't fuck with me Robert! The rubies, where are the rubies?!"_

"_I already told you that I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"_

_There was a small moment of silence as HE looked from Robert's to the young girl in his arms. A smirk suddenly formed as he lowered his gun and took a step closer to the father and his daughter. _

"_What's your worse fear Robert?"_

_Robert did nothing but hold onto his daughter tighter, almost blocking off her airwaves._

"_Such a beautiful girl you got there." HE said motioning towards the girl in his arms, "Looks just like her mother. She sure has grown a lot since the last time I saw her."_

_The girl felt her father stiffen as he stepped closer to them._

"_It's such a shame that her mother never got to see her grow."_

_HE was now standing almost a foot away from them._

"_You know what else is a shame?" HE asked as he suddenly raised his gun at the girl, "That her father won't get to see her grow either."_

* * *

Troy felt his airwaves suddenly close as he felt the air in his body get sucked out of him. He reached up and grabbed Gabriella's hands in an attempt to loosen her grip around his neck. However, this only made her grip his neck even tighter.

"St-op" he gasped as he forced himself to stand with the small amount of strength that he had left.

She did nothing but smirk back at him and slammed him against the tile wall, her hands never leaving their place around his neck.

"Not so tough now are you?" she taunted as she began to dig her nails into his skin at the back of his neck

"St-op…pl-ease." he moaned in agony.

Troy was gasping for breath as he tightened his hold around her small wrists in another attempt to loosen her grip; however he was shocked to see that for a small and fragile girl, Gabriella sure was strong. The more he tried to push her away, the more her grip tightened. While they did this, their eyes suddenly met. Troy let out another gasp as he witnessed her eyes turn darker and darker into a black midnight color.

"I told you to leave me alone." she said with malice in her voice, "I told you to stay away from me. But did you listen? NO!"

Troy suddenly felt himself get dizzy. However, he couldn't stop. He realized that if he gave into her and gave up, then she could seriously hurt him and that meant that he wouldn't be able to help Emily.

"Gab…ella…" he managed to say.

"You wanna know something Troy?" she whispered close to his ear, her turbulent eyes never leaving is weak azure ones, "People really underestimate suicidal people, especially suicidal girls. You wanna know why?"

Troy groaned as he felt himself about to explode from the lack of oxygen in his body.

"Because once they get tired of killing themselves, they start to kill other people."

He let out a small painful cry as he let go of her wrists and suddenly reached for her small neck. He felt her smooth skin under his rough hands as he concentrated on getting a tight grip on her. However, before he could tighten his hold on her, he felt Gabriella's knee come in contact with his male member between his legs. He immediately let go of her neck and felt himself slide down on the tiled wall in agony.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. That wasn't very smart." he heard her say as she straddled him and continued to squeeze his neck tighter. Troy felt his eyes roll back as he withered underneath her frame.

"Poor Troy." she said with sarcasm, "I bet you never imagined that this was the way your life would end. Shame isn't it?"

Troy's body went into panic mode as he felt like his head was about to explode. He felt his hands go limp around Gabriella's wrists and seriously contemplated giving up. He was going to die. He was going to die without getting the number. He was going to die without saving Emily.

He suddenly saw his life flash before his eyes. There he was climbing the 'forbidden' tree in his backyard with Chad and Jason. There he was when he scored his first basket. There he was when Sharpay threw a plastic cup at his head in the first grade. There he was when Amanda Wood, future head cheerleader of East High, gave him his first kiss in the fifth grade during a game of truth or dare. There he was laughing his ass off when Taylor pushed Chad into a puddle of mud after he tried to kiss her in the sixth grade. There he was in the hospital, a couple days after his twelfth birthday, staring at his new baby sister in an incubator. There he was, vowing to himself that he would never let anything or anyone hurt her, not as long as he was around. Most of all, there _she_ was, his Emily, wrapping her tiny hand around his pinky finger.

The more Troy laid there under Gabriella watching bits and pieces of his life, the more he realized that he couldn't give up. No matter what happened to him, he wouldn't give up on saving Emily. He would never give up on saving his world.

Once he finally made up his mind about not giving up, a sudden newfound strength entered his body. He suddenly felt his arms move around and search the floor for something he could use to get Gabriella off of him while Gabriella smirked above him, clearly enjoying the pain she was putting him in.

Maybe now he will understand the feeling of pain. Maybe now he'll understand why no matter what anyone says or does, she will never ever break the promise she made to her father seven years ago. No one, not Dr. Sullivan, not Mr. Kent, not even Troy Bolton, the guy who claimed to care and even kissed her, will ever make her break.

No one.

* * *

"I don't understand this." said Jaime as she walked out of the elevator with Bobby trailing behind her, "Why would Alice tell us that he had to see us when he's not even here?"

Bobby shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Maybe she just wanted to get rid of us."

Jaime suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to face Bobby.

"Why would you say that?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders again, "I don't know. I was just talking."

She rolled her eyes, "Right, I forgot _you_ turned her down."

She began to walk towards her office. As she walked in the door she heard a ringing noise. Her eyebrows furrowed as she felt her pocket for her phone. However she noticed that her phone was turned off. She looked towards Bobby who shook his head as if saying, 'It's not me.'

She walked farther into her office towards her desk. Her eyebrows furrowed even more as she saw a sleek cell phone ringing on her desk.

"That's weird." she said, "This isn't my phone. What's it doing in here?"

Bobby once again shrugged his shoulders as she hesitantly reached for it.

"Are you gonna answer it?" he asked.

"I-I don't know."

"Well, who is it?"

She looked down at the caller ID and sighed.

"It's restricted." she said.

She looked at Bobby who did nothing but stare at the ringing phone.

"Just answer it." he said, "It might be important."

Jaime arched her eyebrow as Bobby took a seat in one of the chairs, his eyes never leaving the sleek phone in her hand.

She looked down at the phone before she suddenly flipped it open.

"Hello?" she said into the mouth piece of the phone.

"What's your worse fear Dr. Sullivan?" she heard a dark rough voice ask.

"E-Excuse me?"

"Is it having a mark on your perfect record?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Or is it knowing that a patient died because you couldn't help them?"

Jaime felt like her eyes were about to pop out of her head. Who was this man and why was he asking her these things?

"Who is this?"

"Instead of asking stupid questions why don't you go and make sure Gabriella hasn't finished killing Troy."

Jaime heard herself gasp as she ran out of her office towards Gabriella's room, afraid of what she might find behind the door.

* * *

Troy struggled to feel around for something as she kept maintaining eye contact with him. Her eyes, he noticed, were now entirely black. The only emotion radiating from them was hate.

He felt around the floor in the hopes that his hand would come in contact with something. Just as he was about to give up hope, he felt a small and barely noticeable smile form on his lips as his fingers came in contact with a round heavy object near Gabriella's bag. He quickly stretched his arm out further as he grabbed the base of the object and swiftly swung it at Gabriella's head.

Gabriella suddenly let out a loud whimper as she felt something sharp come in contact with her head. The grip she had on Troy's neck suddenly loosened as she felt him throw her onto the floor. She suddenly sat up and touched her forehead. She lowered her fingers and was shocked to see small droplets of blood roll off her fingers. She saw Troy stand up and take a large intake of breath from the corner of her eye and looked at the object in his hand.

Anger and fury emitted from her body like steam as she saw her mother's snow globe in his hand. How dare he hit her with the only memory she has of her mother.

"You're gonna wish you never did that." she said in a low voice as she slowly stood up.

"Am I?" he said tauntingly.

She suddenly ran towards him and rammed him up against the wall. Troy let out a small groan as he felt his back come in contact with the tile wall. She reached for his neck once again. However he quickly grabbed her wrist and twisted it so that her back was against chest.

"Ah!" she scram as he twisted her arm.

"Are you gonna stop trying to kill me?" he asked.

She let out a small chuckle as she suddenly stomped on his foot. He let go of her wrist and tripped over her foot. He laid on his back as he felt Gabriella's foot kick him on his side.

"I told you…" she said as she kicked him on his side again, "to leave me the FUCK alone!"

He reached out and grabbed her foot, causing her to fall on her butt. He quickly stood up again and backed away from her. He put up his hands up to signal her that he wasn't going to attack her.

"C'mon Gaby." he said, "I don't wanna hurt you."

She stood up and let out a chuckle.

"Can we just talk about this?" he asked.

She shook her head, "There's nothing to talk about."

"Please Gaby, I _need_ that number."

"And I _need_ you to leave me the FUCK ALONE!" she yelled again while she rammed him against the tinted wall and grabbed his neck again.

He reached for her wrists to try to get her away, but found that her newfound strength was too much for him. All the energy he had was gone as he once again contemplated giving up. However, before he could make that decision he heard footsteps run into the room. He suddenly saw someone rip Gabriella off of him and throw her on her bed.

He looked towards the person who threw her off and sighed. He never thought he would be so happy to see Dr. Drake and Dr. Sullivan.

"Troy what the fuck is going on in here?" asked Dr. Sullivan.

Troy was about to answer when Gabriella suddenly stood up and ran after Troy once again. However, Bobby grabbed her by her arm and stopped her. She quickly turned towards Bobby and slapped him in the face.

"I need some restraints in here!" he heard Dr. Sullivan yell out in the hall.

Bobby grabbed Gabriella by the arms to keep her from doing anything else. Her breath suddenly stopped when she saw the man who was holding her.

"NO!" she suddenly yelled as she tried to get away from his grasp.

Jaime ran towards Gabriella to try and hold her down as she kicked away from Bobby.

"Jaime where the fuck are the restraints?!" he asked as Gabriella clawed her way out of his and Jaime's grasps.

"They're on their way!" she yelled back.

Bobby suddenly grabbed Gabriella by the arms and turned her around. He quickly wrapped his arms around her as she tried to free herself.

"NO!" she yelled as she tried to dig her nails into Bobby's arms, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Two big men and a nurse suddenly ran into the room towards Bobby and Gabriella. Once Gabriella saw the men she jumped and tried to kick them away from her.

"LET ME GO!" she yelled as she kicked one of the big men between the legs. The man fell over in pain as the other man and the nurse tried to get near her.

"Don't make this anymore harder sweetie." said the nurse as she took out a needle from her pocket.

Gabriella's eyes widened in fear and suddenly began to kick again.

"NO!" she yelled again.

She suddenly let all her weight fall back and forced Bobby to fall back on the floor. She quickly stood up and ran towards where Troy stood forgotten near the tinted wall. She quickly grabbed a hold of him and pulled him in front of her.

"C'mon Gaby, we're here to help you." said Jaime as she helped Bobby off the floor.

Troy felt Gabriella shake in fear behind him. He suddenly felt her hands softly touch his shoulders.

"Please don't let them touch me Troy." she whispered, "_Please_."

Troy's eyebrows furrowed as she begged him to protect her. Exactly what game was she trying to play here? First she has him pinned against the wall so that she can kill him, and the next she's asking him to protect her. Troy wasn't sure what to do. Should he help this would be murderer, or should he just stand by and let the girl of his dreams get hurt?

"Troy move out of the way." he heard Dr. Sullivan say.

"No, please Troy; don't leave me alone with them." he heard Gabriella say.

He turned to look at her from the corner of his eyes and sighed when he saw her bottom lip quiver and tears coming out of her eyes.

He didn't know how. He didn't know why. But in those few seconds it took for him to see the fear in her eyes, a sudden feeling of protectiveness came over him.

"Its ok." he whispered, "I won't let them touch you."

"Troy," said Dr. Sullivan, "Get out of the way."

"I'm sorry Dr. Sullivan, but I can't do that."

"Don't make us do something we'll regret." he heard the small nurse say.

Troy felt himself takes a few steps back until he felt Gabriella's stomach come in contact with his back. He turned his head a bit to the side and saw the she was trapped between him and a small table in the corner.

"Troy please get out of the way." he heard Bobby say.

Troy shook his head.

"Troy, you don't know what you're doing." said Dr. Sullivan.

Troy was about to stand his ground when he suddenly saw one of the big men pull him out of the way.

"No!" he yelled as he fell onto the bed.

He turned towards where he left Gabriella and gasped as he saw her climb onto the table and try to kick the men and the nurse away.

"NO!" he yelled as he tried to run towards Gabriella. However, he felt a pair of arms pull him away.

"Bobby get him out of here!" he heard Dr. Sullivan say.

Bobby quickly dragged him out of the room and into the viewing room. He felt himself being shoved into a chair. However he pushed Bobby out of the way and was about to run towards the door to go help Gabriella. He was about to head out when he felt Bobby grab his arm and push him down in the chair.

"Stay down there!" yelled Bobby.

Screams suddenly filled the room as they looked towards the transparent wall into Gabriella's room.

Troy heard himself gasp and felt fury enter his body as he saw the two men grab her. One of them got a strong hold on her legs while the other grabbed her arms.

"NO!" he heard Gabriella scream, "NO! STOP! PLEASE!"

"You have to let me in there!" Troy yelled as Bobby struggled to keep him on the chair.

"I said stay down there!" yelled Bobby.

The nurse stood in between the men and poked Gabriella's arm with the needle. Gabriella yelled and withered in pain as she felt the hot liquid enter her blood stream.

"NO!" she yelled once again.

"I have to help her!" yelled Troy.

"I swear to god Troy, if you don't stay down there I'll call security on your ass."

Troy did nothing but stay seated. He wasn't stupid. He knew that if Bobby called security, they would most likely call the cops which meant that they would call his parents, which would be no good since he was supposed to be saving Emily without them knowing.

"Alice, get me some ice please." he heard Bobby's voice in the mist of Gabriella's yells. He turned towards the door where he saw Bobby standing with Alice in front of him.

"What happened?" asked Alice.

"Just get me some FUCKING ICE!" he yelled at her.

Alice didn't need to be told twice. She suddenly ran out of the room towards the break room to get a bag of ice and came back in less than a minute. She handed the ice to Bobby who walked over and handed it to Troy.

"Here." he said, "You need some."

Troy furrowed his eyebrows as a response.

"It's for your neck." replied Bobby, "She sure left some nasty bruises on you."

He accepted the ice and started to rub the ice over the small bruises that began to form.

He looked towards Gabriella's room and saw that the men and nurse left a now calm Gabriella lying on her bed. Dr. Sullivan quickly walked out of the room with the men and the nurse behind her. She thanked the nurse and the restraints and walked into the viewing room with Bobby and Troy. She went to stand in front of Troy with her hands on his hips.

"You better be ready to fucking explain yourself." she said to him.

Troy looked down, suddenly finding the floor more interesting.

"You have two minutes before I call your probation officer." she said.

"I…I…" began Troy.

"You what?"

"I…can't tell you."

Jaime's eyes popped out of her head, "What do you mean you can't tell me?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders, "I just can't."

Jaime rolled her eyes, "You think this is a joke? Huh? You think that this is a fucking game? Well it isn't. You could have been seriously hurt! Don't you know that she is just as mush a danger to others than she is to herself?"

Troy did nothing but keep his eyes down on the floor.

"I'm sorry Troy." she said.

He suddenly looked up to meet her stare. Sorry? For what? What on earth did she have to be sorry about?

"I know I said your probation was over, but this…this is unacceptable. You broke the rule's Troy and that means that you violated your probation. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to call your probation officer."

"But if you do, I could get sent to Juvie!" he heard himself say.

"You should have thought about that before you almost got yourself killed. Now, tell me what you were doing in there." she said.

Troy suddenly stood up to meet her level, "I told you that I can't!"

She was about to yell back at him when suddenly, an ear piercing scream filled the room. Bobby, Jaime, and Troy turned to look towards Gabriella's room. The three gasped as they say the fragile girl stand in front of her bed and scream her head off. She suddenly ran towards the bag in her room and started to rip through all her clothes. She started to throw her shoes along with some shirts and jeans all over the room. She then got her bed sheets and ripped them in half. Tears were freely falling from her eyes as she threw another shoe at the window. She then ran towards the chair in her room, picked it up, and threw it at the tinted wall.

"Bobby, get the restraints." said Jaime.

The loud bang filled the viewing room as Gabriella picked the chair up again and threw it at the window once more.

"Wait." said Troy.

Gabriella suddenly stopped in front of the tinted window. Her breathing became irregular as she struggled to take a nice deep breath. She then began to take a few steps forward towards the window. Troy turned towards the window and took a few steps forward as well. He placed his hand on the window and sighed as she too placed her hand on it from her side of the wall.

Although he couldn't hear anything, Troy knew that her breathing slowed down and started to get regular. A small smile played on his lips as he swore he felt an electric current fill his body as their palms touched through the glass.

* * *

**So there you have it. This chapter was extremely different than from what I first was going to write. But my imagination kind of got the best of me. LOL! Lets just say that the begining and the end are almost the same and everything in between is completely different. LOL! **

**Please dont forget to REVIEW! You know how much I love it when you guys do.**

**P.S. The song is called **_Time in a Bottle _**by **_Jim Croce_**. It's a very beautiful song that I just could not resist putting in here. Go check it out! Its on my profile if you're interested.**

**P.P.S. Just a random thought...I'm also thinking about going back and naming my chapters. What do you think?**

**:)**


	19. Because

**Yes, I am aware that I havent update since August. I just want to say that I'm so sorry for the dely. If you're sincerely interested in why, I left a samll message in my profile above my random facts. So yea, if you want to know just go read it and if you really dont care, then just continue reading.**_

* * *

_

_Jaime felt like her eyes were about to pop out of her head. Who was this man and why was he asking her these things?_

"_Who is this?"_

"_Instead of asking stupid questions why don't you go and make sure Gabriella hasn't finished killing Troy."_

_Jaime heard herself gasp as she ran out of her office towards Gabriella's room, afraid of what she might find behind the door._

_---_

"_Bobby, get the restraints." said Jaime._

_The loud bang filled the viewing room as Gabriella picked the chair up again and threw it at the window once more._

"_Wait." said Troy._

_Gabriella suddenly stopped in front of the tinted window. Her breathing became irregular as she struggled to take a nice deep breath. She then began to take a few steps forward towards the window. Troy turned towards the window and took a few steps forward as well. He placed his hand on the window and sighed as she too placed her hand on it from her side of the wall._

_Although he couldn't hear anything, Troy knew that her breathing slowed down and started to get regular. A small smile played on his lips as he swore he felt an electric current fill his body as their palms touched through the glass._

* * *

**Chapter 18**

"_Ah, because the world is round  
it turns me on  
because the world is round,"_

Her barely audible whisper echoed in the tiled room as she laid face up on the hard mattress. Her clothes were changed back to her original hospital uniform, which consisted of light green fleece pants and a light green shirt with elbow length sleeves. Her mind was an empty bottomless pit with broken memories and shattered dreams. Her hair was sprawled around her head as her dead eyes bore into the ceiling above. She traced small figures with her index finger on the edge of her mattress; all the while the blonde doctor sat in the chair across from her trying desperately to get the troubled girls attention.

"Gabriella," whispered the blonde, "why did you do it?"

"_Ah, because the wind is high  
it blows my mind  
because the wind is high,"_

"Can you tell me that?"

"_Ah, love is old, love is new  
Love is all, love is you,"_

A sigh escaped Jaime's lips as she looked at the fragile girl lying in front of her. She had been trying to get the troubled girl to talk about her outbreak for the past hour, and so far, all Gabriella had muttered was a song.

"Gabriella," she began, "I'm here to help you."

"_Because the sky is blue  
it makes me cry  
because the sky is blue"_

Another sigh formulated in Jaime's mouth.

"Please Gabriella, let me help you. I want to help you. But I can't help you if you won't talk to me, let alone look at me."

Silence suddenly filled the air as Gabriella slowly turned her head towards Jaime. Jaime let a small smile form on her lips as the troubled teen's dead brown eyes locked with her blue ones.

"That's better." She said, "Now, tell me how you are, how are you feeling?"

Gabriella did nothing but give Jaime a blank stare. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before turned her head towards the ceiling.

"Please Gabriella, I want to help you. We all do."

"What the fuck do you care whether you help me or not?" whispered Gabriella before she sat up and turned to face Jaime once again.

"I do care."

"No you don't." she said quickly, "You say you do but you don't. You don't give a fuck about me or any other person in this shit place."

"Gabriella that's not true. People like me and Dr. Drake, we do care. We want to see you get better."

"For what? So you can get another gold star on that perfect record of yours?"

Jaime let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding in. How was she supposed to make Gabriella believe that she does want to help her?

"You don't care." continued Gabriella, "Not about me or other people with shitty lives like me. All people like you care about is getting paid that handsome salary you usually get paid and then going on with your fucking lives."

"Gabriella, I can assure that I'm not like that. Not at all. I promise."

"Dr. Sullivan, if there's anything I've learned in my fucked up seventeen years of life, it's that you should never make promises you can't keep."

Jaime let out another deep breath as Gabriella laid back down and turned to count the tiles on the ceiling. She briefly contemplated leaving the room but quickly changed her mind once she laid her eyes on Gabriella's snow globe, peeking out from under her bed. She bent down to pick it up and slowly shook it so that the snow was freely falling on top of small buildings. Gabriella sensed the motion and quickly turned to look towards Jaime. A sense of anger filled her eyes as she saw Jaime shake her perfect world.

Who the hell did this blonde bitch think she was shaking her world like it was a martini shaker? No one is allowed to touch her only memory of her parents. No one is allowed to touch the only memory of her home. She slowly balled her hands into fists as she sat up. Her movements caught the attention of Jaime who let a small smile grace her features. The doctor looked down at the globe as the snow floated around the skyline.

"Why do you do it Gabriella?" she asked before she me Gabriella's turbulent eyes, "Why do you always try to kill yourself?"

Gabriella did nothing but form her lips into a tight line.

"Hmm? Why do you always feel the need to kill yourself?"

She was met with nothing but silence.

"I can figure that it's a way for you to escape from reality, but why? What happened that's made you so sacred to live?"

Anger started to boil inside Gabriella as Dr. Sullivan shot her questions from left and right. Who does she think she is asking her these things? Didn't she know asking only made things worse? Didn't Dr. Sullivan know that all she ever wanted to do is to get rid of the pain that formulated in her body every time someone close to her got hurt? Gabriella asked herself these questions as hot tears began to fall from her eyes. She closed them in hopes that they would stop. However, all she did was cry even more.

"Stop! Just stop it now!" she yelled as she scooted her back towards the wall. She hugged her legs tightly to her chest and began to slowly rock herself as she let the hot tears run freely down her cheek.

"Why Gabriella? What are you escaping from?"

Gabriella shut her eyes tightly and tried to drown out the sound of her voice. However, all that did was make every bad memory she has ever had replay in her mind.

"A bad experience of some sort?"

'_Whatever you do mija…don't say a word.'_

Her father's words began to play in her mind. She couldn't ignore him. He was her father and nothing would ever take the place of her father.

"What is it Gabriella?"

"_You know what else is a shame? That her father won't get to see her grow either."_

"It's ok to talk about it, you know? Everyone always tries running away from things."

"_What do you know?"_

"_Enough to know that you're running. Just like you always do. You're getting your new identity and running off to fuck up other people's lives."_

Gabriella began taking short shallow breaths. She couldn't stop. Everything was there; her dad, Him, Troy…they were all there, mocking Gabriella as she desperately tried to hold on to her sanity.

"_Let me take you down,  
'Cos I'm going to Strawberry Fields."_

She began to sing softly to herself in hopes that the voices in her head would go away.

"Gabriella?"

"_Nothing is real  
and nothing to get hungabout…"_

"You can tell me."

"…_Strawberry Fields forever."_

"You can trust me. I promise"

"…_Strawberry Fields forever."_

"I promise you that I won't say a word."

Gabriella gasped as she turned her red rimmed eyes towards Jaime. How dare she use those words around her? Doesn't she know that she's only making things worse?

"Gabriella?"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

It was Jaime's turn to gasp as Gabriella suddenly stood up and flung her pillow at her. Jaime quickly dodged it and stood up.

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" yelled Gabriella as she held her head between her palms and slowly gripped at her own hair.

"Gabriella, calm down." said Jaime as she began to back away from the girl, "I'm here to help you."

"The only thing you're doing is helping me kill myself faster!" she sobbed, spilling as much hatred as she could muster into her words.

Jaime suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. No doubt Bobby had called the restraints to come and help her with Gabriella. She could see the door open from the side of her eyes, but refused to take her eyes off the young girl. Instead of allowing them to fully enter, she put her hand up and motioned for them to stop.

"Gabriella, I'm sorry about everything that's happened."

"Stop!"

"I know that it must be hard living like this."

"Stop trying to FUCK with my mind!"

"Never being able to fully escape."

"JUST GET OUT!" yelled Gabriella as she backed herself against the wall.

"But there is way."

"Get out!"

"There's a way to stop all of this…"

"GET OUT!"

"…If you just let me help you."

An eerie silence suddenly filled the room as Gabriella closed her eyes and slid down to the floor. She protectively wrapped her arms around her knees and leaned her head against the wall.

"Dr. Sullivan?" Jaime heard one of the nurses say after a few minutes of uncanny silence.

"Shh." whispered Jaime as she took a few steps closer to the girl in front of her, "Gabriella?"

At the mention of her name, Gabriella suddenly opened her turbulent, dead eyes.

"How many times do I have to _fucking_ tell you that you _can't_ help me?" she yelled as she looked around the room and noticed the restraints for the first time.

"That's not true. I want to help you."

"We all want things we can't have Dr. Sullivan."

Gabriella suddenly took a short intake of breath as she tried to control the sobs that threatened to escape her mouth. Nobody could say anything. Nobody could do anything. Nobody could ever help her. No one at all. Not even if they tried. She was helpless; a helpless lonely soul who was just waiting for someone to finally come and rescue her. But who? Her father had tried to shelter her from the evil world, but all that did was earn him a spot six feet under. All those doctors claim to want to help, especially Dr. Sullivan. But that blonde bitch doesn't know anything.

A sudden shiver ran down her spine as she suddenly thought of a sandy haired, blue eyed boy. He said he wanted to help. But all he did was cause her more pain than anyone ever had. He called her a bitch and a liar. But that didn't hurt. Not really. All it did was bruise her ego a bit. Nothing she hadn't been called before. No, what hurt Gabriella the most was the backstabbing fact that she had been wrong all along. Troy was exactly the same as everyone else. He only wanted one thing from her, and the ironic part was that it wasn't even sex. He wants what they want. He's always wanted what they want. She hated them. She hated him! How dare he call her the liar when he's the one who's been lying all along? She hoped he burned in hell!

But then why, oh why could she not stop thinking about that soft tender kiss they shared? Why couldn't she stop thinking about those eyes which she would, figuratively, die for? Most of all, why was it that the only time she felt calm, cool, and collected was when she was with him? Why did it take one touch, through a fucking glass no less, of their palms to calm her down and to forget about all her troubles?

The more she sat there, the more she began to realize that maybe she didn't need help. She just needed him.

Troy.

"Gabriella…"

"I want Troy." she said quickly, before Dr. Sullivan spoke anymore.

Dr. Sullivan arched her eyebrow as the words left Gabriella's mouth.

"What?" she asked, thinking that she might of heard wrong.

"I want Troy." Gabriella said a little louder.

The restraints looked towards Jaime who did nothing but sigh. She ran a hand through her blonde locks and looked towards the tinted window. No doubt Bobby was as much as confused as she was.

"Gabriella, you need help." She said as she turned to look down at her.

Gabriella did nothing but shake her head. Doesn't she get that she needed those blue eyes more than anything?

"_I_ can help you."

"I WANT TO TALK TO TROY!" she yelled.

Jaime, along with everyone else in the room jumped a bit as they weren't expecting another outburst from the young girl.

"Gabriella…" Jaime sighed.

However, before Jaime could say anything else, Gabriella suddenly shot up from the ground and grabbed the chair near her.

"I SAID I WANT TROY!" She yelled as she threw the chair at the tinted window.

Jaime suddenly backed away from the girl and motioned the restraints to quickly leave the room.

"Ok." said Jaime softly, "He's on his way."

* * *

Troy stared with wide eyes at the scene in front of him, not believing what he was hearing. Could it be that the deadly beauty finally wanted to cooperate?

Whatever the truth was, he couldn't help but get a thrill of excitement every time his name left her mouth. There was something erotic about the way she said his name. Her angelic voice only made him want her to scream it even more. He knew it was wrong to want to pound his body into the person who was somewhat responsible for his sisters kidnapping. But he just couldn't help it. He fell for her, and he fell _hard_. What scared him the most was that he had no desire of going back up.

"You heard her." he heard Dr. Drake's voice echo in the room.

Troy turned and glared at the only other person in the room. He had never wanted to punch Dr. Drake more than he did now. Ever since the man dragged him out of Gabriella's room and pushed him down hard in his seat, he had felt the urge and the need to break a few bones.

"She wants you." said Dr. Drake, motioning towards the window.

Troy turned towards the window once again to see Gabriella quickly stand up and pick up the chair. Troy and Bobby both jumped in their seats as a loud bang was heard once she threw that chair at the window.

"I suggest you go now before she hurts herself again." He heard Dr. Drake say.

Troy nodded his head before he quickly stood up and left the room.

The whole thing confused him. He just didn't understand Gabriella. One minute she's strangling him, the next minute she's asking him to protect her. He just didn't get her. She was like one of those really old and worn out jigsaw puzzles with missing pieces. It could never be solved unless you had all the pieces, and even then some of the pieces were so worn out that you forgot what you were solving for which made solving the puzzles totally worthless.

However, although solving the mystery of Gabriella Montez, or whatever her name was, was hopeless, he couldn't deny the need to protect her. He just couldn't see her hurt. The whole time that Dr. Sullivan was trying to get stuff out of her was completely agonizing for him to listen to. Couldn't she see that Gabriella didn't want to talk about it? Couldn't she see the pain and the discomfort in the girl's dead eyes?

He had told Dr. Sullivan that she wouldn't talk. He had told her this after she yanked him away from the glass and took away his connection with Gabriella. She yelled at him and told him that she would call his probation officer soon and that his ass was going to be sent to juvie where it belonged in the first place. All Troy could do was roll his eyes. He didn't care about that anymore. As long as he was sent after he rescued his sister, then it wouldn't matter anymore. He guessed that Dr. Sullivan sensed the carelessness in him because she only rolled her eyes and told him to sit his ass down.

Once she saw that Gabriella had calmed down she ordered a nurse to go in and clean up the mess she made and to give her a clean set of clothes. Once the mess was cleaned and Gabriella had dutifully accepted and changed her clothes, Dr. Sullivan announced that she was going back in to talk to the girl.

'_She won't do it.'_ he said, _'She's not gonna talk to anyone, especially you.'_

'_We'll see about that.'_ was the only thing she said before she went to talk to Gabriella.

Troy now smirked at the fact that he was right. It seemed like she wasn't going to say anything to anyone. Only to him. There was no way that he could deny the fact that there was small connection between them. Every time they touched, and that one time when they kissed, he swore that he felt an electric current of passion enter his body and soul. Even when their palms touched through the glass, he felt the passion radiating from her body and soul.

It was undeniable.

Troy Bolton loved Gabriella Montez.

As he was about to enter Gabriella's room, he was met a with disappointed Dr. Sullivan. She did nothing but look Troy up and down and move to the side to let him in.

"She needs you." said Dr. Sullivan before he walked into the room.

An eerie chill went down his spine as he saw Gabriella lying on the floor next to her bed in the fetal position. He walked over to her and laid down next to her with his back against the floor. He put his hands on his stomach as he listened to her breathe. He slowly turned his head to face hers and sighed when he saw her looking at him with big doe eyes that had been through so much and had seen so much.

He missed this. He missed being this close to her without the sense of violence and hatred between them. It seemed like the time had stopped. There was no race against time to get a stupid number to save his sister. There was no doctors or hospitals. There was only Troy and Gabriella. Brown and blue, and that's the way he wished it would always be.

"Troy." she said softly.

Troy reached out and tucked a stringy curl behind her ear.

"Gaby." he said, grabbing her hand and gently squeezing it.

She sighed in contempt as she felt the touch of his hand. There was no denying the fact that she had missed this too. Just being with him made her believe that everything will be alright. That she didn't have to worry about Him anymore, or anything else for that matter.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you." she whispered.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

She nodded her head before she took her hand away from his grasp and sat up.

"I can't do this." she said as she hugged her legs to her chest.

"Can't do what?" he asked as he turned his body sideways to face her.

She did nothing but stare in front of her. He looked towards her line of vision and sighed when he saw the tinted window. Of course she wouldn't want to talk with them listening. She wasn't stupid. She knew that they were gonna use whatever she said against her.

"I don't want them to listen either." he said as he stroked her arm.

"Then tell them not to." she said with a bit of anger in her voice.

He sighed before he got up and walked over to the window. He lightly tapped on it before he nervously ran his hand through his hair.

"Turn the intercom off." said Troy as he walked back towards Gabriella.

"Please." he quickly added, turning around to face the window again.

"They're not listening." He heard Gabriella say.

"How do you know?" he asked her, as he turned around to meet her gaze.

"I just do."

He sighed again as he tapped on the glass once again.

"Please turn the intercom off. If you don't then she's talking to anyone."

They suddenly heard a knock at the door. Troy went to answer it and saw Alice standing outside.

"Dr. Sullivan told me to tell you that they turned the intercom off." She said.

Troy crossed his arms over his chest, "How can I believe you?"

They suddenly heard a door open next to them. They both turned and saw Dr. Drake walk out of the room. A minute later, Dr. Sullivan stormed out closed the door and followed Bobby down the hallway.

"That's how." said Alice as she walked away.

"They're gone." Troy said as he shut the door.

He turned around and sighed as he found Gabriella sitting cross legged on her bed. He walked towards the overthrown chair on the ground and picked it up. He placed it in front of her bed and sat on it. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and resting his head in his hands.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Both of them had so much to say to each other; however neither of them knew what to say.

Troy sighed once again as he ran a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped once he say tears begin to form I her eyes.

"Gaby,"

"Stop calling me that." she said, "Please. It only makes this harder."

"Then what do you prefer me to call you?" he said in a somewhat angry tone.

She did nothing but shrug her shoulders. There was another uncomfortable silence before Troy mustered up the courage to speak again.

"Gabriella, I need that number," Troy said bluntly.

"And I need you to stop asking me that."

"I'm not gonna do that."

"Well then be prepared for a disappointment."

Troy groaned as he stood up and began to pace in front of her.

"Well then why the hell did you call me in here if you weren't gonna tell me? Huh? Do you wanna just fuck with my head even more?"

"Because…"

"Because what? Do you think this is funny? Do you like seeing people suffer? Huh? What is it?"

"Because I need help Troy." she said quietly as she looked into his azure eyes, "Because I need you."

* * *

**So that was Chapter 18. I know its not really much but its something right. It was actually going to much shorter because I just couldnt remember what else I had written for this chapter before it got erased (if you dont know what im talking about, read my profile). However, I managed to put quite a few things in here.**

** So yea, I promised myslef tha I would have another chapter up by the end of the year and waht better day to update than on New Years Eve right? LOL! With that being said, I want to wish everyone a HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A MERRY NEW YEAR!! I hope every one has a safe and fun holiday.**

**P.S. The first song is called **_Because_** and the second one is called **_Strawberry Fields Forever_** and both are by **_The Beatles_**.**

**P.S.S. Please dont forget to review! I know I dont deserve it but please do!**


	20. Help

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, only the characters that I created.**

**AN: The Italics represent Gabriella singing and the regular font is her talking normally…longer AN on the bottom.**

"_Gabriella…" Jaime sighed._

_However, before Jaime could say anything else, Gabriella suddenly shot up from the ground and grabbed the chair near her._

"_I SAID I WANT TROY!" She yelled as she threw the chair at the tinted window._

_Jaime suddenly backed away from the girl and motioned the restraints to quickly leave the room._

"_Ok." said Jaime softly, "He's on his way."_

_---_

_Troy groaned as he stood up and began to pace in front of her._

"_Well then why the hell did you call me in here if you weren't gonna tell me? Huh? Do you wanna just fuck with my head even more?"_

"_Because…"_

"_Because what? Do you think this is funny? Do you like seeing people suffer? Huh? What is it?"_

"_Because I need help Troy." she said quietly as she looked into his azure eyes, "Because I need you."_

* * *

**Chapter 19**

"_Because I need help Troy." she said quietly as she looked into his azure eyes, "Because I need you."_

If the desperation in her sweet voice wasn't enough to convince him that's she was telling the truth, then the look in her big doe eyes certainly was enough.

It was as simple as that. She needed him. No question about it.

Troy sighed before he ran a hand through his blondish locks.

"Please Troy." she whispered, "I…I need help."

He wanted to do it. He wanted to help her. But nothing made sense…then again nothing with Gabriella ever made sense. Why would she try to kill him only to ask for help later on? Why should he, hypothetically speaking, risk his and most importantly Emily's life to help her? She's the one who got him into this mess. She's the one who didn't want to cooperate with him in the first place. Now she wants him to cooperate with her? Everything having to do with Gabriella has led him from bad to worse. So why should he help her now?

"Why Gabriella?" he whispered, loud enough for her to hear, "Why should I help you now?"

She tore her shameful eyes away from him.

She knew that she didn't deserve help, especially from him. However, there was a small twinge of hope illuminating inside of her that maybe he would help, regardless of all the bad things she's done to him.

"I…" she whispered as she shyly met his eyes, "I know I don't deserve it. But…I just can't think of anything else to do."

"Have you ever thought of just telling the truth?" he asked with a bit of annoyance.

"Yes." she said so low, that Troy had to wonder if he really heard it or not.

"Then why don't you?" he almost yelled, "You're a smart girl Gabriella, I'm surprised you haven't fucking figured it out yet."

She looked down at her hands.

"All you have to do is tell me that stupid number and everything will go away. You'll have a clean slate and then you can go on your merry way and be a doctor or whatever the fuck it is you wanna be. You can leave and help me and everyone else you fucked around with just forget about all of this. But no! You just stay here mouthing off and singing stupid songs while innocent people are getting hurt!"

"It's not that easy Troy." she said a little louder than before, "You think I like fucking with people's lives? Well newsflash, I don't!"

"Then why do you do it? Huh? Why do it if it makes you wanna kill yourself anyway?"

Gabriella shook her head to try to prevent the tears from forming in her eyes, "Y-You don't understand. You will _never_ understand!"

"Try me."

* * *

"Turn the intercom off? Turn the _fucking_ intercom off? Who the hell does he think he's talking to?" asked Jaime as she paced back and forth in front of Bobby in her office, "I mean, who the hell does he think _he_ is just telling me to leave like I'm some kind of servant? Did he suddenly forget that he works for me, not her, me?"

Bobby let a sigh escape his mouth, "Jaime," he said, "calm down. I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing."

Jaime suddenly stopped pacing and turned to look at her friend.

"How can you be so nonchalant about it? The girl almost practically clawed your face off and your sitting here like it's no big of a deal."

"Because it _isn't_ that big of a deal." Bobby sighed as he looked at the shocked expression on Jaime's face, "Look Jaime, I trust Troy. Maybe it's time that you start trusting him too."

"Bobby, he's a juvenile delinquent…"

"Who got caught trashing a school gym. It's not like he killed anyone!"

"Well he just as well might have. You never know Bobby, he could be a rich ass punk and his dads money could have gotten him community service for doing something worse than vandalizing school property."

Bobby groaned in frustration, "Jaime, he's not rich. Sure he might have _some_ money but it's not enough to compare him to Paris Hilton or any of those other stupid people."

"How do you know? Have you talked to him, but I mean _really_ talked to him?"

"Have you?"

Jaime formed her lips into a tight line. Who was she kidding? She knew he was right, but that didn't make the situation anymore easier.

"Look Jaime, I know that you're still…" Bobby trailed off looking for the right word to use, "…troubled by the fact that he got her to talk and you didn't. But that doesn't mean that you should antagonize him every chance you get. It's hard, and I understand that, but you have got to move on from this and instead of threatening him every chance you get, you should embrace him, metaphorically speaking of course, and work with him."

Jaime sighed and ran a hand through her blonde hair, "I know Bobby, I know. But I just can't help it. Something's just not right."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that something isn't right. Ok, I get the fact that she decided to talk to him instead because I _guess_ you can say that he doesn't talk to her like a regular doctor would. But what I just don't get is, what was Troy even doing in the room? He knew that she was leaving today and yet here he is, almost got himself killed, but he's here nonetheless."

"And?'

"_And_…what I mean is something isn't right. I-mean not only was Troy here when he wasn't supposed to be here but…" she dug her hand in her pocket and was shocked to find what seemed like a sleek phone resting in there, "but…the phone call."

"What phone call?"

"A man called me on this phone." She said as she took the sleek phone out of her pocket, "He's the one that told me about…" she trailed off for a minute and mentally cursed herself for not thinking about this before. How could she forget about the phone call that led them to find Troy and Gabriella battling it out?

"Jaime?" she heard Bobby say as she looked down at the phone in her hands, "What are you talking about?"

She looked up and met his gaze, "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"The phone call! Remember? We came out of the elevator and I was talking to you about why Alice would tell us that Dr. Woods wanted to see us when he was in Barbados. We walked into my office and all of a sudden I get a phone call from a phone that isn't even mine asking me what I was afraid of and all of a sudden he told me to go rescue Troy."

She sensed Bobby tense under her watchful eyes. Was he as shocked as she was?

"W-What…what exactly did that man tell you?"

Jaime arched her eyebrow, didn't he just hear her?

"Didn't you just hear me? I said that he asked me what my worst fear was, and then before I could say anything else, he told me to rescue Troy."

"He didn't tell you anything else?"

What?

"Bobby didn't you just listen to me? I said…"

"I heard what you said," he said defensively, "but I'm asking if you're sure he didn't say anything else?"

Jaime stayed quiet and thought for a moment.

"_Is it having a mark on your perfect record?"_

"_I don't know what you're talking about."_

"_Or is it knowing that a patient died because you couldn't help them?"_

"H-He started saying random things that he thinks I fear."

"And what did you say?"

"I-I just asked him who he was."

Bobby sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"You wanna know the scary part?"

"What?" asked Bobby with confusion etched in his face.

"H-He was right."

"About?"

"About everything…I…I am afraid of what he said."

There was a moment of silence between the two as they both pondered on the mysterious phone call.

"There's something fishy going on here Bobby," said Jaime after a minute or so, "and I intend to find out just exactly what it is."

* * *

Gabriella rolled her eyes at Troy's childishness. Of course he would say something like that.

"Troy…" she groaned.

"No, I'm serious Gabriella, try me. What is so hard and _so_ non-understandable for me?"

"A lot of things." she muttered.

Troy sighed, "The only thing that I don't understand is how someone so smart and so beautiful, can be so incredibly selfish and coldhearted."

At his words, something in Gabriella clicked. How dare he try to antagonize her…again.

"I am not selfish or coldhearted! How dare you say something like that?"

"How dare I?" he said as he suddenly stood up and looked down at her, "Gabriella, I think the better question is how dare _you_ sit there and ask me for help when you're not even gonna fucking help me at all."

"Whatever." She muttered as she tried to contain her anger.

"Tell me the fucking number!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"No, especially since you're being a complete asshole!"

"Just tell me you stupid fucking bitch!"

The room suddenly went silent as Troy's words rung around her head. Is that really what he thought of her? She slowly closed her eyes as she heard Troy sigh and begin to pace.

"Gab-Gabriella." he said as he mentally cursed himself, "I'm…I'm sorry, that was completely uncalled for and even though I'm pissed at you, I shouldn't have said it…but…I just _need_ to know."

She suddenly opened her eyes, but instead of seeing fear, Troy saw a glint of amusement mirroring off of the chocolate orbs.

"_I'll never tell…"_she began to sing in her deadly melodic voice, _"I'll never tell…_any of you."

She stretched her arms above her head and leaned back on her bed.

"Gabriella…I can't do this right now."

"But you _can_ call me a stupid fucking bitch right?"

Troy sighed, "I said I was sorry."

"And so did I Troy." She whispered as she stared up at her ceiling, "So did I."

"If you're sorry, then why don't you just help me?"

She didn't respond to him. All she did was stare up at her ceiling. Troy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Who was he kidding? This wasn't going to work. She would never cooperate with her. He would never get that number for HIM. He would never rescue Emily. Worst of all, he would never get to tell her how he felt.

God he hated himself for having any type of feeling for her. He really _hated_ himself. Most of all he hated her. He hated her for making him fall hard for her. He hated her for not letting him show her that he's serious about her. He loves her, and everything she's doing is just breaking him apart.

"Y-You know what Gabriella?" he said as he slowly began making his way towards the door, "I can't do this anymore."

If his back wasn't towards her, he would've been able to see the shocked expression on her face. She suddenly sat up. He's leaving?

His hand was inches away from the knob when he finally heard her speak, "Why do you want it?"

He whipped his head around and looked at her, "What?"

"The number…why do you want it?"

He sighed as he slowly walked towards the bed.

"Why's it so important Troy? Why now?"

He ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't possibly tell her the truth. HE said not to tell anyone…although he never mentioned whether or not _she_ was included in anyone. He could do it. He could tell her the truth about Emily. If he told her, there was a chance that she would have sympathy and tell him, but then again there was also a chance that she wouldn't.

'_Gabriella isn't that heartless…right?'_ he thought to himself.

But even though he told her, would she tell him the number? Most importantly, would he tell her why she can't? What's so important about it anyway? It made no sense that a simple number would be the cause of so much pain.

"Troy?" he heard her say.

And why does she all of a sudden need help? Help with what?

"Why do you need my help?" he suddenly asked.

She looked down at her hands once again.

"I'm not gonna tell you why I need it unless _you_ tell me why you need my help. No, better yet, I'm not gonna tell you why I need it unless you tell me why you _can't_ tell me."

"You wanna trade off?"

"Yea, like a bargain of some sorts. I'll tell you if you tell me, that sort of thing."

"Alright," she said as she pushed herself back against the wall, "shoot."

"No." said Troy as he walked forward and sat on the edge of her bed, "You're gonna go first."

"You don't trust me?" she said with a smirk.

"Could you blame me?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well, I don't exactly trust you either."

"What? Why?"

She sighed, "Why do you think?"

Troy turned to look at her and noticed the hurt in her eyes for the first time.

"_I'm gonna miss you so much." he whispered before he did the unimaginable._

_He slowly closed the gap between them and allowed their lips to gently touch._

"I'm sorry Gabriella." he whispered.

She slowly closed her eyes as small tears began to fall, "it's ok…I…I really don't wanna talk about this now though."

"Ok." he said.

She nodded her head as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. This was a sight that pained Troy to see. He couldn't stand it when he saw girls cry. Especially the ones he cared about. It always pained him to see them so small, so afraid. He always took it upon himself to help him them stop by giving in to what they want. This was one of the times he wished he hadn't.

"I'll go first." he said with a sigh.

He watched her look up with a confused expression on her face.

"What?"

"I'll tell you why I need that number first."

"T-Troy you really don't have to."

"No, it's ok. I've been nothing but a jackass since you oh so kindly asked me for help."

He saw a small smile form on her lips.

"Ok." she said.

He looked away from her and suddenly found his shoes the most interesting thing in the room.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "They took Emily."

Gabriella felt her eyes widen in shock. She was afraid to ask for fear that she already knew the answer, "W-Who?"

"I…I don't know. They I guess. The same ones that want what I want."

"I'm sorry." she whispered. Gabriella almost felt her heart break in half. He knew how precious Emily is to him and she felt horrible for not hearing him out first.

"I-If I don't get them that number in 4 days, I'll never see her again and I…" Troy inhaled a deep breath. He knew he was beginning to choke up. If he started crying, he realized that it would've been the first time he cried since he learned about her disappearance, "…I can't let that h-happen."

He finally looked up and met her eyes. Her heart literally broke at the sight of his cerulean eyes that bore into her chocolate ones. Troy Bolton, the East High basketball star and Albuquerque's residential janitor was breaking right in front of her.

"So you see," he continued, "I need your help, just as much as you need mine."

She couldn't do it. She just couldn't say no to him. How could she rob another innocent person of their life? There's no way. But there's also no way that she could go against her father. Her father's last wish was for her to keep their secret and she never had a problem keeping it until now.

"I'm so sorry." she said, "I…I want to help you…believe me I do…but…"

"But what?"

Gabriella shook her head in order to stop the tears from falling, "I made a promise Troy."

He shut his eyes in pain…he knew it.

"A promise I said would guard with my life."

Troy sighed. He leaned down and placed his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands.

"I need you to help me Troy." She said.

Troy scoffed. How could she ask him for help when she just refused him help?

"I…I know I shouldn't even be asking this…but I said I would tell you after you told me." She sighed before she continued, "I need you to help me get out of here."

He lifted his head and met her eyes once again, "You mean escape?"

She nodded her head. Troy sighed and looked down at his shoes before he met her eyes, "And what are you gonna do after that huh? If you didn't realize this by now, whoever these assholes are, they're gonna come after you whether you like it or not. It's better to just give in now."

Gabriella shook her head, "No listen. I…I need you to help escape from everything."

Everything.

Troy didn't understand. Was she really that dense? How is he going to help her when she can't even help him?

"Gabriella…"

"Pay attention Troy…I need you to help me escape from_ everything_."

Troy looked her up and down. He studied everything about her, her beautiful curls, her doe eyes, her kissable lips, her bony arms, her cut up wrists…Troy suddenly did a double take as he stared at her permanent scars from the fateful night that she tried to kill herself. Then it dawned on him. It suddenly dawned on him like a ton of bricks. Leave it to the freaky math girls to put a double meaning on something.

He was afraid to ask in fear that it might be true. But he just had to or else he would never know.

"Y-You...you want me to help you kill yourself."

* * *

**~Insert Dramatic Music Here~**

**So, I decided to put my AN here instead of in the begining to save time.**

**Once again, Im sorry for the long wait. Theres just been to many things going on. Including the death of my dog :( Now, before anyone says anything, no it isnt an excuse, it really did happen and I was deeply saddend. Truth is, this story was supposed to be up last week, but last week was when we had to put her to sleep. I was seriously too depressed to write anything down so I put it on hold for another week. Im sorry about that but i hope that you guys understand.**

**On a happier note, the Oscars are on Sunday...anyone excited to see Zanessa perform with the incredibly SEXY Hugh Jackman? I know I am. lol.**

**Oh, and people should really consider seeing Slumdog Millionaire. It really is the best movie and I REALLY hope it wins best Movie. I think i would cry if it didnt. I literally just came home from watching it and it is amazing!**

**I'll seriously try to UD as soon as I can. Maybe and I seriously mean MAYBE next weekend. Im still unsure at the moment.**

**Yea, so this is the end of my kind of pointless authors note. Please dont forget to REVIEW! It really helps me write when I know that people are still reading. Lets try to push for 200 reviews...yea?**

**P.S. FYI, Gabriella is singing, **_"I'll never tell...I'll never tell."_ **If you've seen the movie or at least seen the trailer, then you'll know what I mean.**

**P.P.S. RIP Lika...you were seriously the best friend anyone could ever ask for. I love you with all my heart and I will never forget you. :)**


	21. Phone Call

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**

* * *

"_H-He was right."_

"_About?"_

"_About everything…I…I am afraid of what he said."_

_There was a moment of silence between the two as they both pondered on the mysterious phone call._

"_There's something fishy going on here Bobby," said Jaime after a minute or so, "and I intend to find out just exactly what it is."_

_--_

_Troy looked her up and down. He studied everything about her, her beautiful curls, her doe eyes, her kissable lips, her bony arms, her cut up wrists…Troy suddenly did a double take as he stared at her permanent scars from the fateful night that she tried to kill herself. Then it dawned on him. It suddenly dawned on him like a ton of bricks. Leave it to the freaky math girls to put a double meaning on something._

_He was afraid to ask in fear that it might be true. But he just had to or else he would never know._

"_Y-You...you want me to help you kill yourself."_

* * *

**Chapter 20**

"_Y-You...you want me to help you kill yourself."_

Troy was met with silence once the question left his mouth. It was a silence that only meant one thing.

_Yes._

She didn't even have to say it. One look from her dead eyes said it all.

"Ga…Gabriella." he whispered, "I can't do that."

She suddenly closed her eyes in pain. However, that didn't stop the tears from flowing down her gaunt cheeks. She was surprised that she still had tears to shed. It seemed like that's all she's been doing these past 24 hours.

"Please Troy." She whispered, "I can't do this anymore. I don't want to be here if it's only going to cause more harm to everyone."

"And you think killing yourself is just going to make everything go away?"

Her silence was enough to let him know what her answer was. He sighed and moved closer to her on the bed.

"Look," he said, "I…I know that you think everything's gonna go away if you just kill yourself. But…the truth is…it won't. Nothings ever gonna go away. You think it's gonna fix everything, but it isn't. Yea, maybe no one's gonna come after you and threaten your life anymore…but…w-what about the people you leave behind. People like me and Emily. How's she ever gonna come back if you're not here to help me save her?"

Gabriella let out a shaky breath, "B-But…don't you want me out of your life?"

"No." he whispered almost immediately.

Gabriella opened her eyes wide with shock. She had been a terrible person to him. She tried to kill him, called him an asshole, and refused to help him with his sister, and yet, he still wanted to be there with her. Sudden warmth came over her hand. She looked down and saw his hand close around her small frail one.

He could see her struggle to keep her sobs in. But he couldn't stop. He had to touch her and feel her. He had to let her know exactly how he felt. If he didn't, then there's no denying the fact that she would find some other way to get out of this life, and his.

"Gabriella listen to me," he said in a low voice, but loud enough for her to catch and hold onto his every word, "We both know that I should hate you, for everything that you've done to me. But…I just can't help…I can't help but feel the way I do for you. I care about you…a lot. And I wanna stop seeing you hurt yourself."

It was his turn to let out a shaky breath. He didn't wanna cry. He felt like he shed all his tears for Emily and he didn't want to shed anymore, "I-I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that…I…I don't wanna lose you. So please…do me a favor, and never ask me or anyone else that question again."

There was a silence after, and unfortunately for Troy, it was an uncomfortable one. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe he shouldn't have told her that. Who was he kidding? She might think that he was just using her when in fact he wasn't. He meant every word of it. He really did care about her. However, what scared him the most was that he loved her. He loved everything about her. But for some reason he just couldn't tell her that. He couldn't tell her that in the short week he got to know her, he fell in love with her.

He suddenly heard Gabriella clear her throat. He looked away from the spot on the floor and looked into her chocolate orbs. She opened her mouth to say something; however before anything left her mouth, a sudden ring tone began to echo in the room.

Troy sighed as he reached into his pocket for the phone. At least he knew it was his own phone and not the sleek one, the one where HE calls.

He looked down at the caller ID and groaned in frustration. Chad really did have bad timing. But then again, it could be important.

"What happened Chad?" he asked as he pushed the answer button on his phone.

"_I just wanted to check up on you, you know, make sure everything's alright. You've been gone all day and it's getting pretty dark."_ He heard his afro headed friend say.

Troy sighed and stood. He could have sworn he heard Gabriella whimper at the loss of contact; however he pushed those thoughts aside and began to pace, "It's umm…its slowly coming along. What about you? Have you heard anything?"

He heard Chad sigh on the other side, _"I don't know man. It's all quiet here. I-mean the phones rung a couple times but it's no one important."_

"What about my parents?"

"_No, they haven't called yet. I bet they'll call in about an hour or two because it'll be Emily's bedtime"_

Troy pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt himself begin to choke up, "Yea…yea it would."

"_Don't worry man, you'll find her. I know you will."_

"Yea…" he let out a shaky breath as he ran a hand through his hair, "look Chad, I should probably go."

"_Yea, I gotta call my mom anyway to tell her I'm gonna sleep over. I just wanted to call and make sure you were alright."_

"Alright, thanks man. And I'm…I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"_It's ok Troy. I'll talk to you later."_

"Ok." and with that, he hung up and turned to look at Gabriella, "I'm sorry about that. It's just that, Chad's helping me out a bit. He just wanted to know how it was going."

"It's ok." she said as he sat back down next to her and looked down at his shoes, "I would worry too if one of my best friends sister disappeared."

There was another moment of silence before Troy finally got the courage to speak, "Look Gabriella, about what I said…"

"I promise." she suddenly said.

He turned to look at her, "What?"

She tore her eyes away from the hand that missed Troy's contact and met his icy blues with her muddy ones.

"I promise that I'll never ask you or anyone else that question ever again."

A small smile crept up on Troy's lips. Somehow, he knew that things would be a little a different now that she made that promise. The question was, how much of a difference would it make?

* * *

"_There's something fishy going on here Bobby," said Jaime after a minute or so, "and I intend to find out just exactly what it is."_

Jaime's words rung around Bobby's head. He knew there was definitely something going on. But it's not like he could tell her. His boss would kill him if he ever told. He couldn't blow it. Not again.

He had spent the last two years going after the young girl and every time he found her, she always managed to slip away. It was only two weeks ago when he was sitting in his office in New York sulking about how he let Violet get away again. He was more than relieved when Jaime called him asking for help. He didn't want to stay sulking on his own, so gave in to Jaime's request and flew out here. What he saw shocked him.

There she was Violet or Gabriella Montez as she was now called in her hospital uniform after she tried to kill herself again. No surprise there. Now, he was so close, so very close to getting her, and he couldn't let her slip away again.

He trusted Troy to get what he needed out of her. It was completely undeniable that the juvenile janitor has a little something for the suicidal girl and vice-versa. It was only a matter of time. All he had to was wait a while and see how long it took her to crack.

"Bobby?" he heard Jaime say.

He looked up from the spot on the floor, "What?"

"What do you think about this?"

He sighed as he ran a hand through is hair, "I don't know Jaime."

"What's not to know?" she said as she began to pace, "Something has to be going on and it involves Troy and Gabriella."

"Jaime, you don't know that for sure."

"Well, you don't know that it doesn't." she stopped pacing and sighed, "Look Bobby, two weeks ago, a young girl comes in, unconscious from trying to kill herself. She doesn't talk to anyone, she completely ignores people. Then one day, this boy shows up and they start talking. While they do that, Gabriella's foster mom comes to see me to tell me that Gabriella's room was completely trashed the night she tried to kill herself. A part from that, social services is up my ass trying to take Gabriella away without the proper treatment. Mr. Kent then walks in here with all his glory and tells us that Gabriella has been followed by some bad guy ever since she was ten. Next thing we know, Mr. Kent dies, just like all of Gabriella's other social workers. Then I get this phone call from this guy who tells me that Gabriella's trying to kill Troy, who by the way, wasn't even supposed to be here. You still think there's nothing wrong with this picture?"

Bobby sighed. She was right. You don't have to be a monkey to figure out that something's wrong with this picture.

"Bobby, you don't think that the man who called me is the same one that's after Gabriella, do you?" asked Jaime.

He ran a hand through his hair before he suddenly stood up, "Look Jaime, I gotta make a quick phone call. I'll be back in a minute."

And with that, he walked out the door, without giving Jaime time to protest.

* * *

"You really mean that?" asked Troy, the excitement evident in his voice.

"Yea. I do."

He gently reached out and caressed her face with his hand.

A comfortable silence filled the room as they both just sat there, staring into each other's eyes. Everything around them disappeared. They were suddenly Troy and Gabriella again, not jock and freaky math girl, or janitor and freaky math suicidal girl, just Troy and Gabriella.

Troy felt a magnetic pull towards her perfectly round lips and slowly lowered his head. She slowly closed her eyes and leaned her head forward to meet his lips. However, before their lips could touch, a sudden ring echoed in the room. They suddenly pulled apart and sighed.

Troy mentally cursed whoever was the destroyer of their 'almost kiss'. He was about to open his phone and tell whoever it was to fuck off, however he noticed that the ringing disturbance he held in his hand was not his own. In his hand, he held the sleek phone. The one that HE had given him.

He let out a shaky sigh before he stood up and walked towards the other side of the room.

Gabriella silently watched him as he opened the sleek phone.

"Y-Yea?"

"Well hello Troy." He heard HIS dark voice say.

"What do you want?"

"Well that's not very nice. Tell me Troy, you're a smart boy. Is it really a good idea to be impolite to the man holding your sister captive? I mean, not only have you not done what I asked you to but now your being rude. Hasn't your mother taught you anything?"

Troy sighed into the mouth piece as he opened the door and stepped outside, "I'm doing the best I can."

"Are you sure about that?"

He turned to look back into the room where he saw Gabriella's curios eyes look into his troubled ones, "L-Look, I really am trying."

"Well try HARDER!" boomed the voice.

Troy heard himself sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, "Is Emily alright?"

"I told you not to ask questions until you get me that number."

"I just wanna know—"

"You've got three more days. Don't let me down." HE said before the line suddenly went dead.

Troy held his anger with the man inside as he walked back into Gabriella's room. He put the sleek phone back inside his pocket.

"It was him wasn't it?" he heard her ask as he sat at the foot of the bed.

"Yea." he said as he put his head in his hands, "He says I got three more days."

"Troy," she said as she crawled over towards him, "I really am sorry."

"I know." he said in a barely audible tone.

There was a moment of silence between the two in which the sound of their breaths was the only sound that let each other know the other one was still there.

"W-What are we going to do now?" she asked timidly.

He turned his head and looked into her eyes, which he noticed were no longer as dead and empty as they once were. He then looked out her barred window and noticed a small airplane fly in the sky above them.

'_Probably from the nearby airport.'_ he thought.

Wait. He did a double check and continued to stare at the plane as it disappeared from sight. It was as if a light bulb had suddenly flicked on in his mind. Of course, how could he have not thought of that before?

"How set in stone is your promise?" he asked her.

Gabriella felt her eyebrow arch upward in confusion at his odd question.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Do you still want me to help you get out of here?"

"What?"

He suddenly stood up and started to look around the room, "Do you still want me to help you escape?"

Realization finally dawned on her as he placed shoes that he found under her bed beside her.

"You want to help me get out of here?"

"Think about it Gaby. You promised that you would never say a word to anyone. Well, if you show me what it is your hiding instead of telling me, _then_ technically you wouldn't break your promise because you didn't tell anyone."

Gabriella sighed as she shook her head, "I don't know Troy."

"What if HE finds gets us? He's not stupid you know? He does what he says and he says what he means. If he says he's gonna hurt us, he will and if he says he's gonna kill us, he means it."

Troy shook his head, "We don't have any other choice. Its either we wait here for him to come get us, or we go and get this thing before he gets to us."

"And what are we gonna do once we leave? Where are we gonna go, huh? Have you thought of that Troy?"

"Wherever we need to. Wherever _we_ have to."

She shook her head, "I don't know Troy. He's gonna find us. He _always_ does."

"Not if we cover all our tracks."

"But what about Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Drake? Are we supposed to just slip by them?"

"I'll find a way. Trust me."

She sighed as she began to bite her lip.

"Gabriella think about it." he said as he kneeled in front of her and took her face in his hands, "We need to get out of here. Every second we stay here is another second we give those guys to make their move and another second without Emily. You think that just because you're here they're gonna leave you alone? Well they're not. If you don't give them what they want, then they're just gonna come in here and take you away and I can't let that happen. I _won't_ let that happen."

Gabriella could do nothing but let tears fall from her eyes as she looked into Troy's loving ones. No one had ever looked or spoken to her like that before, with so much love and compassion.

"A-And…if they take you…I…I don't even want to think…I…I can't lose you too." he said as his eyes began to swell.

"You won't." she whispered as she leaned down and touched his lips with her own.

It was a brief kiss. However, it was enough to show how much they meant to each other.

"So where are we going?" he asked as he pressed his forehead to her own.

She slowly sat up and looked towards the table in the corner of the room. Troy followed her line of vision until it landed on the round snow globe that had been placed on the table by Dr. Sullivan. He looked back at her and noticed the faraway look in her eyes as she continued to stare at the globe. He stood and walked towards the table. He grabbed the snow globe and slowly shook it.

"It's in New York isn't it?" he asked softly as he watched the snowflakes fall softly on the buildings.

She didn't say anything but continued to stare at the object in his hand.

"Gaby?"

She closed her eyes to stop the tears from dripping down as she bit her lip. She took a deep breath and slowly nodded her head.

He looked at the globe, then turned his head towards the barred window where he saw another plane ascend into the air.

He sighed and looked at the crestfallen girl on the bed, "New York it is then."

* * *

"We need to move in now."

"Not a chance." said the voice from the other line.

"But she's here, she's been here all this time and we've done nothing but sit on our asses and wait for this boy to get something out of her when I'm pretty sure she's not going to budge."

"Look, why don't you worry about what you're supposed to worry about and let us worry about what we're supposed to worry about."

"Yeah? And what's that."

He heard the voice sigh, "Just make sure that your little blonde friend doesn't find anything out. Remember, we are to be as discreet as we possibly can."

Silence.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Silence.

"Bobby?"

"Crystal."

"Now what about the other one? Alice was it?"

"Yeah. We had a run in the other day. I think she knows."

"Well you better hope she doesn't or else it's your ass again understood?"

"Yeah boss."

* * *

**Im so sorry for the late and short Update. Life's been hectic right now. Im really not sure when Im going to get the chance to update again but I hope that it can be sooned rather than later. Thank you all for your support and for allowing me to get 200 reviews. I appreciate all that was said and I'm very gratefull and feel truly blessed to have readers like you guys. **

**I have a TWITTER now and if anyone of you would like to friend me on it then you're welcomed to. Its _homskillet91_. All I ask is that you please let me know who you are first before you twitter me or whatever.**

**I hope evryone had a Happy Easter and if you dont celebrate it, then I hope you had a happy Sunday.**

**Before I ask you guys to review, I have a small favor to ask you. If any of you are Christian or practice some form of Religion, I would like to ask if you can please pray for my friend who was shipped out to Iraq a week ago. Pray for his safety ans also help me pray for his his sister as well, who is one of my bests friend and her family. **

**Thank you, and please dont forget to review. :)**


	22. Escape

**DISCLAIMER: I STILL OWN NOTHING.**

"_Bobby, you don't think that the man who called me is the same one that's after Gabriella, do you?" asked Jaime._

_He ran a hand through his hair before he suddenly stood up, "Look Jaime, I gotta make a quick phone call. I'll be back in a minute."_

_And with that, he walked out the door, without giving Jaime time to protest._

_---_

"_It's in New York isn't it?" he asked softly as he watched the snowflakes fall softly on the buildings._

_She didn't say anything but continued to stare at the object in his hand._

"_Gaby?"_

_She closed her eyes to stop the tears from dripping down as she bit her lip. She took a deep breath and slowly nodded her head._

_He looked at the globe, then turned his head towards the barred window where he saw another plane ascend into the air._

_He sighed and looked at the crestfallen girl on the bed, "New York it is then."_

* * *

**Chapter 21**

Nurse Carol Holloway was just another hour away from going home and she could not have been anymore happier. After working at the hospital for more than ten years, she had grown to love her job and grown accustomed to staying late and working long hour shifts. However, her mother would always scold her for staying late at work, saying that it was too dangerous to roam around at night.

Yes, 35 year old Carol was still being scolded by her mother. Every time she arrived home at an unreasonable hour, well, an unreasonable hour in her mother's eyes, she would get scolded so much that it felt like she was a seventeen year old girl again who got caught coming home past curfew.

It was nearing ten o'clock now, and Carol knew that if she did not get home soon, her mother would call her and give her another yelling. She was supposed to have gone home a little over an hour ago. However, she decided to stay longer and finish stocking up the medicine room in order to save herself from stocking it early in the morning.

She walked along the corridor in her white nurses shoes when an eerie chill came over her. It was quiet, almost too quiet. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and waited for any sign of life to pass by. Still, not one sound was heard.

She let out a loud breath before deciding to continue on in her journey towards the nurses' lounge. However, before she could continue on towards her destination, she stopped in front of room 112.

'_This is odd.'_ she thought as she steeped towards the opened door, _'Isn't this door supposed to be closed?'_

She stood at the room entrance and was shocked to find the room vacant. She was about to turn and walk towards Dr. Sullivan's office in order to tell her about the missing patient, when she suddenly remembered that the young girl was set to leave that same day.

'_Hmm, maybe she did leave. Might as well take off the sheets and put new ones on.'_

She walked towards the bed and took off the dirty sheets. Once she neatly folded them, she walked back towards the door when she swore she heard a deep breath behind her. Alarmed, she quickly stopped in her tracks.

That's odd; she could have sworn she was alone.

She slowly turned around and was relieved to find herself alone in the room. She let out a sigh and turned back around to walk out the door.

However, what was once an empty space in front of her suddenly became filled with the body of a tall man, dressed in dark wash jeans and a wife beater with a black leather jacket over it. She was about to let out a scream when the man quickly lifted his arm and punched her across the head, leaving her unconscious on the floor.

Yes, Carol Holloway was a nurse who was used to working long shifts and arriving home until late. Even though she was 35, he mother still scolded her for staying out late, something the thirty-five year old resented. However, what Carol didn't know, was the old wives saying was true.

Mother does indeed _always_ know best.

* * *

As a young boy, Troy would always dream of becoming an international spy, much like his idol, Bond, James Bond. He idolized James Bond so much, that during the summer before he entered the sixth grade, he and Chad got the wonderful idea of spying on all of their neighbors, beginning with the old lady at the end of Cherry Lane. However, much to their dismay, all they found her to do was eat, sleep, feed her cats, eat, then sleep again. Next, they decided to spy on none other than Taylor Mckessi and Kelsi Neilson during a girls pool party at the Neilson residence. However, whatever fun they had sneaking around the Nielson's backyard was shattered once they were discovered by a tiny pink bikini clad Sharpay Evans. Troy and Chad still believe that till this day, they have never run so fast from anything in their entire lives.

Oh, how Troy Bolton wished that this escape mission was as easy as the one from that summer.

"Take this." he said as he grabbed a coat from the nurses lounge room.

"Now we're adding theft to our list of crimes?" she asked as she timidly took the coat and wrapped it around her frail body.

"Would you prefer it if you walked out of here with your hospital uniform still on?" he asked as he grabbed a pillow from the couch in the middle of the room.

He walked back towards Gabriella who gave him a quizzical expression when he offered the pillow to her.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"Put it under your shirt."

"What? Why?" she asked as she suddenly wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"It's the perfect alibi. Think about it, nobody will be suspicious if they see two teenagers walking out of a hospital if one of them is pregnant, and since its physically impossible for me to be pregnant, you're gonna have to play the part."

"And you think me walking out with an oversized coat isn't suspicious enough?"

Troy rolled his eyes, "Just put it on." he said as practically thrust the pillow into her hands, "Besides, the oversized coat goes with the whole pregnancy thing."

Gabriella sighed as she placed the pillow under her shirt but then wiped the aggravated look off her face. Somehow, it just felt right, having a big belly at Troy's doing.

'_Slowdown there.'_ She thought to herself, _'I'm getting too far ahead of myself.'_

However, what she didn't know was that the same thought had crawled into Troy's mind once he saw her pat her newly swollen stomach lightly.

'_Snap out of it Troy.' _He thought, _'Find Emily and finish high school first before you start thinking about her that way.'_

"Are you ready?" he asked as he put his hand on the door handle.

"Wait." She said as she walked over to the small table where she had placed her snow globe. She picked it up and gently placed in one of the inside pockets of the coat. It weighed heavily down in the pocket, but she didn't care. She had to take it with her. It was the only memory of home that she had and she'd be damned if she just left it there.

Once she made sure that it was safely inside, she closed the coat over her new belly and looked up to meet his azure eyes.

"Now I'm ready."

* * *

"Where'd you go?" asked Jaime as Bobby walked back into her office.

He ran a hand through his hair before he collapsed into the chair in front of her desk.

"Made a quick phone call." he said.

"To whom?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Bobby arched his eyebrow as he watched his friend stare at him intently, "What do you mean to whom?"

"As in who were you speaking to on the phone?"

Bobby sighed as he slouched down in the chair, "I was speaking to my boss back in New York about me getting an extended stay here with you."

'_At least it's half true.' _he thought.

"It couldn't wait?" she asked with annoyance laced in her voice.

"I figured I should call now before I forget. Why, should I not have called?"

"Not when we're discussing something as important as this phone call I received."

Bobby sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, "Jaime, I thought we went over this already."

"All we went over was the fact that something fishy is going on here, which obviously isn't enough to wrap you in a frenzy. You're acting like this doesn't matter."

"I never said it didn't matter. It's just that I haven't thought about in depth like you have."

"What's there to think about? Someone is obviously after Gabriella and I'm betting that somehow, Troy's involved in the whole thing."

"Okay, now you're just making random shit up." he said, "How can a seventeen year old jock from Albuquerque be involved in a murderous plot?"

"I'm not making this up. I'm telling you, Troy knows something and I intend to find out what it is."

Bobby sighed as he sat up straight, "Alright lets speak hypothetically here," he began, "Let's say that hypothetically speaking of course Troy is somehow involved in this murderous scheme of Jane Doe, what makes you think he's going to tell you?"

"I control the fate of his juvenile record." she said with a smirk, "I control the fact that he's not in a juvenile detention center right now."

"Well hypothetically speaking of course, if he was partaking in this murder scheme, I highly doubt that he's thinking about the fate of a juvenile record."

"One never knows Bobby."

Bobby sighed as he suddenly stood up, "This is ridiculous Jaime, Troy is _not_ involved."

"You don't know that he is!" she exclaimed as she stood up as well.

"You don't know that he isn't!"

"Who are you trying to convince here Bobby? You or me?"

"Jamie, you're being impossible!" he exclaimed.

"No! You're being impossible! Why can't you just admit the fact that there's something going on here? Why do you refuse to see what's right in front of you?"

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"That we're in danger here!"

_Ring._

A sudden silence filled the air as the sleek phone on Jaime's desk came to life. She looked at Bobby as if asking for permission to answer. When she got a blank response, she reached for the phone and opened it.

"Dr. Sullivan speaking." She said.

"_Oh, why the formalities?"_ said the voice from the other line.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"_Tell me Jaime, what's the dock in pay when you let a patient escape from the hospital?"_

"What are you talking about?"

"_I'm talking about that fact that while you were arguing in your office with your dear friend Dr. Drake, your most mystifying patient has escaped with her custodial boyfriend."_

Startled at the dark voice's words, Jaime practically ran out of her office towards Gabriella's room. Sure enough, the room was empty, as was the viewing room next door. Jaime ran a hand through her hair and bit her lip as she frantically looked around the hallway. When she noticed how empty it was, she bit down on it harder.

"_You know if you bite down any harder your lip will bleed."_ said the voice.

Alarmed, she looked around the corridor in search of someone she had failed to notice.

"_That's right,"_ HE said, _"I can see you and I can hear you. How else would I know if my orders are being followed?"_

"What orders?"

"_Oh, you know, just simple ones."_

"No, I don't know."

"_Look, Dr. Sullivan, you have exactly five minutes before they walk out the door. So why don't you us both a favor and get me the girl!"_

"And if I don't?"

"_Well there's this nice little nurse here with me. Carol is it?"_

"You kidnapped one of my nurses?"

"_I like to say that I temporarily borrowed her."_

Jaime let out a shaky breath, "Please don't hurt her. Just tell me what you want me to do."

"_I already told you that I want the girl."_

"And if I don't?"

"_You know, I've always had this nurse's fantasy."_

"You sick son of a bitch!"

"_Why don't you save your words for someone who cares and get me the fucking girl!" _HE yelled before the line suddenly went dead.

"Bobby!" she yelled.

However, she didn't have to run anywhere because during the course of her conversation with HIM, she had failed to notice bobby walk behind her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"They're gone." she said.

He quickly turned his head and looked into the room and quickly turned back to meet Jaime's eyes.

"Shit." He muttered before they both quickly turned and ran down the hallway.

* * *

"I _still_ don't understand why we couldn't have taken the elevator." muttered Gabriella as they descended on the stairs.

"I told you already that it was too risky. If we took the elevator, someone from the floor could have seen us waiting there for it. The sooner we left the floor, the sooner we can get out of here. Besides, we only got about five more flights of stairs left."

Gabriella sighed as she felt the weight of the snow globe hit her thigh, "Troy all these stairs are not healthy for a pregnant woman."

"A minute ago you were complaining about how stupid it was for you to impersonate a pregnant lady. Now you're complaining about how it's unhealthy for you walk down the stairs because you're _pretending_ to be pregnant. There's no silver lining with you, is there? " he said with a smirk.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "All I'm saying is that if we're supposed to put up this act, wouldn't it be more believable if I took the elevator or something?"

"I guess," he shrugged as they continued to descend, "but we're almost there anyway."

They continued to walk down in silence and occasionally got a few smiles and stares from the different people walking up and down the stairs. One lady went as far as to ask Gabriella how far along she was. Gabriella quickly muttered a 'still got three more to go' before quickly following Troy.

"We just got three more to go." he said, referring to the flight of stairs they have left to take.

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" she groaned.

They continued to walk quietly with each other as Troy felt a small smile find its way onto his lips. So far, everything was going according to plan. No one had stopped to ask them questions about what they were doing and instead offered their congratulations to the happy couple.

They had just made it to the top of the second floor when Troy heard a scuffle coming from the stairs above. He looked back to see two big men with dark wash jeans running towards them. One had a black leather jacket on and the other had a black long sleeved shirt on. He quickly looked at Gabriella who had not yet noticed the men running after them. He looked down and saw that they only needed one more flight of stairs left. He suddenly placed his hand on the small of her back and quickened his pace.

"Troy, why are we walking so fast?"

He didn't say anything. Instead, he pushed her along faster and maneuvered her between people walking up and down the stairs.

"Troy what's wrong?" she asked worried.

He still didn't answer. Suddenly, she heard scuffling coming from above them. She looked up and gasped as she recognized the two men, who were violently pushing people out of the way, running down after them.

"Shit!" she half yelled as her and Troy quickened their pace down the stairs, earning them confusing stares from the people around them. Once they reached the bottom level, they quickly headed towards the doors that led to the lobby.

Unfortunately for them, the elevator doors, which happened to be located next to the lobby doors, chose that exact moment to open. They found themselves gasping for breath as they saw a frantic Dr. Sullivan followed by a hurried Dr. Drake walking out of the elevator.

"Run!" yelled Troy as he grabbed Gabriella by the hand and led her towards the lobby.

"There they are!" they heard Dr. Sullivan yell as they both maneuvered their way around the sick people and hospital beds.

They were about to head for the main entrance when they heard Dr. Sullivan yell for the guards to stop 'those damned kids'.

"Shit, shit, shit!" yelled Troy when he saw the guards block the door. He quickly turned into a long hallway full of hospital staff and rooms.

"We need to find another fucking exit!" He yelled when they reached a crossroad. He looked left and right. All he saw were two hallways full of more people and more rooms, but no exit.

'_Fan-fucking-tastic.' _

"Troy, in here." said Gabriella as she led him into a deserted trauma room. She closed the door behind them and shut off the light, "Get down."

The both ducked down and leaned their heads on the door.

It was silent. All that was heard was their deep breaths.

Gabriella closed her eyes and suddenly felt Troy's hand encase her own. She looked into his azure eyes as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

She nodded her head as she wept the sweat of her face with her other hand.

"You think they're gone?" she asked.

"Shh." he said as the sound of rushing steps came from the other side of the door.

"Did you see where they went?" they heard Dr. Sullivan ask.

"No, but we got guards searching the entire floor." They heard what they assumed to be another guard.

"Well find them!" they heard her yell before they heard her angry footsteps stomp away.

"That was too close." said Troy as he peeked out of the door window.

He stood up and helped Gabriella up as well. He grabbed her hand and slowly opened the door.

"Let's find a way out." he said once they walked out into the hallway.

He was about to shut the door when he suddenly heard Gabriella say his name.

He looked up and saw the two big men at the standing at end of the hallway. They both looked up and spotted the two teenagers just as Gabriella muttered Troy's name.

"Shit." said Troy, as the men began running down the hallway towards them.

"Troy, there's an exit!" yelled Gabriella as she pointed towards a set of doors down another hallway. Troy wasted no time and quickly pulled Gabriella down the hallway towards the doors.

Once they reached the doors they quickly pushed past them and hurried out of the building towards a busy street. However, they had no time to stop and rest, for the men were quickly gaining on them.

"C'mon." he said, pulling Gabriella behind him.

They ran down the sidewalk as fast as they could. As they ran, Troy would keep looking behind them, and became increasingly worried when he saw that the men were almost catching up.

"C'mon!" he yelled again.

"Troy, I…I can't." she said as she struggled to keep up with him.

"Yes you can!" he yelled back, "You can't give up now!"

'_Neither can I.' _he thought.

Truth be told, Troy felt just as tired and drained as she did. He didn't know how much longer he could continue. He could feel his heart pound faster and faster with each step he took. His legs ached and his airwaves were becoming constricted. However, he couldn't stop. He knew that every step he took was for Emily and he would never stop running unless he knew Emily was okay.

"Troy!" he heard Gabriella yell.

He looked behind them and realized that the men were only a couple seconds behind. He looked across the street and noticed a taxi man step out of his car and walk to a nearby newspaper stand.

"Hold on!" he yelled as he gripped her hand tighter and led them onto the busy street.

Cars were honking at them and swerving out of the way to avoid hitting them. The distraction seemed to have worked as the men were left maneuvering their way between the oncoming traffic.

Once they reached the other side of the street, Troy led them towards the empty taxi cab.

"Get in!" he said as he opened the driver's side door.

"Troy, we can't take this, are you crazy?" she yelled.

Troy looked back at the men who had managed to find their way to the middle of the street.

"Gaby just get in the fucking car!" he yelled as he slid into the driver's seat and locked the door.

Gabriella quickly obeyed and got into the passenger seat.

"Hey what are you kids doing?" they heard a man yell.

Troy turned towards the window and saw who he assumed to be the taxi driver banging on the window.

"Troy." He heard Gabriella say as she motioned towards the mirror.

He could see that the men had fully crossed the street and were now heading towards the car. He then fixed his eyes on the steering wheel and sighed in relief when he noticed that the keys were still in the ignition.

"Sorry sir," he yelled through the window, "we're just temporarily borrowing your car."

And with that, he turned on the ignition and sped away.

* * *

**Yes, Im aware that I'm actually updateding early. But I figured you ALL deserved it. I didnt get as much reviews as I usually do but, eh...I dont really mind. I figured that if I took so long updating, then I probably wouldnt get as much. Besides I write for myself, not for others. The amount of reviews I get dont define me as an author....So, yea.**

**Thank you to everyone who did review, and thank you so much for those who said they would help me pray for my friend. I really do appreciate it. :)**

**I hope you guys liked this chapter just as much as you liked the last one. Send me some nice feedback if you'd like.**

**P.S. Dont be shy if you guys want to talk to me. My twitter is **_homskillet91_**, hit me up if you'd like. I always like talking to new people, especially people that like my stories. :) **


	23. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. Take this all as fiction.**

**Quick AN: This is kinda of a long chapter. There's an explanation at the bottom as to why.**

"_What is it?" he asked._

"_They're gone." she said._

_He quickly turned his head and looked into the room and quickly turned back to meet Jaime's eyes._

"_Shit." He muttered before they both quickly turned and ran down the hallway._

_---_

_He could see that the men had fully crossed the street and were now heading towards the car. He then fixed his eyes on the steering wheel and sighed in relief when he noticed that the keys were still in the ignition._

"_Sorry sir," he yelled through the window, "we're just temporarily borrowing your car."_

_And with that, he turned on the ignition and sped away._

* * *

**Chapter 22**

"_You know what else is a shame?" HE asked as he suddenly raised his gun at the girl, "That her father won't get to see her grow either."_

_Before HE even had the chance to pull the trigger, Robert swung his duffel bag at the HIM and took off running around the corner. _

_HE staggered backward against one of his henchmen who kept him from falling._

"_Go after them!" HE yelled._

_His henchmen ran with all their might to catch up to Robert and his little girl, who found themselves running through a street market in Chinatown._

"_Papi!" the young girl cried out as she spotted the men coming after them._

_The man had no time to respond, for he found himself maneuvering his way around busy street vendors and stands._

_He turned his head slightly and saw that HIS men were gaining on them. _

"_Papi!" she yelled again when she noticed that one had taken out a gun._

_At the sound of the gunshots, the people began to scream and duck for cover. Men and women were screaming for help, but that did not stop Robert from running with his precious daughter. _

_He finally made it to the end of the street and noticed a woman getting out of a taxi cab. He quickly ran towards the cab and almost pushed his daughter in before he got in himself. _

"_Grand Central Station please, and fast!" he yelled as the driver, noting the frantic tone in the passenger's voice, drove off without another word._

_Robert quickly looked back through the window and saw the men stop in their tracks and look on towards the moving vehicle. He turned back around in his seat and looked down at his daughter who was currently trying to suppress her tears. He put his arm around her and placed her on his lap._

"_I'm so sorry querida." He said as he pressed his face to her hair and gently kissed her._

_The girl could do nothing but let even more tears flow out of her chocolate eyes._

"_Te prometo que todo estara' bien, okay." he said as he gently rocked her, "I promise you that everything will be alright, Papi's here."_

_The young girl wrapped her arms around his neck, afraid that something bad will happen if she ever let go._

"_Why don't you sleep for a bit?" he asked her, "It might be a while before we get to the station."_

_She gently nodded her head and laid her head against his broad shoulder._

"_Now remember your prayer." he whispered._

_She nodded her head and softly repeated the prayer she had memorized at a younger age, "__Now I lay me down to sleep,_ _I pray the Lord my soul to keep." she whispered as her father gently stroked her hair, "Should I die before I wake,_ _I pray the Lord my soul to take."_

"_Now go to sleep mija." he whispered soothingly into her ear. "And when you wake up, we'll be safe."_

"_Promise?"_

_He choked back the lump in his throat at his daughters question, "Yes, mija. I promise that no one will hurt you while I'm alive."_

_Too bad Robert didn't know just how much truth was behind his words._

* * *

The brunette slowly began to stir in the seat next to him. Her head, which was leaning on the window, was covered by her dark ball of curls. But he didn't care. He still thought that the sight was simply mesmerizing.

They had been driving for about twenty minutes, heading north before she fell asleep. Now, almost half an hour later, she sat up and took in her surroundings.

"Where are we?" she asked groggily.

"Somewhere between Albuquerque and Santa Fe." he answered.

"How long have I been out?"

"About half an hour or so, maybe less."

"Why does it feel like it's been longer?" she asked with a groan as she leaned her head against the window.

"Well," he said as he ran a hand through his hair, "We have had a pretty long day. I-mean, I woke up, found out some sick bastard took my sister. I went to the hospital to try to get that number out of you. You tried to kill me and then decided that you did in fact need me. We reconciled then we both ran away from Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Drake, and then nearly managed to escape to two psycho maniacs by taking an innocent bystanders taxi cab. And now, we're driving north towards Santa Fe."

Gabriella turned to look at Troy and noticed the smirk forming on his lips.

"Yep, I'm pretty sure today qualifies as the longest day of my life."

She let out a low chuckle as she sat fully upright in her seat.

"I still can't believe we stole a taxi cab. How low can we sink?" she asked as she opened the compartment in front of her.

"Low enough to not risk getting caught by HIM."

She let out another chuckle as she fiddled through the compartment. A low whistle escaped her lip as she took out a full bag of donut holes.

"You hungry?" she asked as she plopped a donut hole into her mouth.

Troy scrunched his nose in disgust, "You don't even know how long that's been in there."

"Calm down." she said, waving him away, "They're fresh."

"You don't know that."

"They're warm, probably right out of the oven."

"They're probably hot from all the sun."

"Troy, its December. It's winter."

"Gaby, you don't know where they've been."

"Sure I do. They've been in an oven."

"Yea, like five months ago!"

"Troy, we were standing outside a donut shop when we took the car." She said with a roll of her eyes.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Fine." she shrugged as she took another donut hole and popped it into her mouth, "Don't eat them."

He rolled his eyes and cracked a smile.

"But just so you know," she said turning her body to face him, "these are fucking delicious."

She grabbed another donut hole and slowly bit into it, savoring the taste with her taste buds. She moaned in delight as she finished swallowing the sweet dessert.

He rolled his eyes again at her childishness. However, he couldn't help but sigh. The sounds coming from his stomach were definite signs that he was hungry. No. Starving actually. He hungrily looked on as she licked the glaze off her fingers and proceeded to grab another donut hole. He sighed again before he extended his hand towards her. She let out a giggle and placed a donut hole in his hand.

"You're impossible, you know that?"

She simply shrugged her shoulders, "So, I've been told."

He eyed the donut hole carefully before he timidly placed it into his mouth. He slowly closed his eyes in ecstasy.

She was right. It was fucking delicious.

"So?" she asked him with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

He didn't say anything, and instead kept his eyes on the road while a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Good right?" she asked again.

"You know," he said, "I haven't eaten all day so of course anything that passes through my mouth will be heaven unto my taste buds."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and offered him another one, "Just shut up and eat them."

"Can't say no to that."

He reached into the bag and grabbed another one.

"Speaking of all day, what time is it?" she asked as she looked at the dark road ahead of them.

Troy looked at the dashboard, "Well according to this cab, I'd say it's about half past twelve."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Wow, seems like we've been in here forever." she said.

"No," he said with a smirk, "more like an hour or two."

She let out a small laugh as she began to mess around with the radio, "That qualifies as forever in my book."

He let out a soft chuckle as she finally settled on a radio station. She leaned her head back again and stared out the window.

"_I've been roaming around  
always looking down at all I see  
painted faces fill the places I can't reach"_

"Do you ever just look out at other people in their cars?" she asked after a minute or so of silence.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you ever just watch people as they drive by?"

Troy arched his eyebrow, "No, not really. Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Just wondering."

"_You know that I could use somebody  
you know that I could use somebody  
someone like you"_

"I used to watch people all the time." she continued as she turned to look at Troy, "And make up random stories about them in my head."

"What kind of stories?" he asked her as he briefly turned to meet her eyes.

She shrugged again before she turned to look out the window, "You see that man right there?" she asked, motioning to a man in the car next to them.

He nodded his head.

"Well to a, I guess you can say normal person, he's just another specimen, another man driving to an unknown destination. But to me," she said, turning towards the car again, "he's a dad, rushing home so that he can tuck his kid in to bed. He's been working hard all day, and even though he'd prefer to just get home and relax in front of the TV for a while, he's choosing to read a bed time story for him and wish him sweet dreams of castles and faraway lands. Why? Because he promised. Even though the kid's probably been asleep for about four hours now, he still promised that when he got home, he would walk in his room, wake him up to read him his favorite Dr. Seuss book, and say 'I love you'."

"_And all you know  
and how you speak  
countless lovers undercover of the street"_

By this time Troy looked over at Gabriella and noticed the faraway look in her eyes as she spoke about the man in the next car. Tears started to form in her eyes while she looked down at her hands, "And once he says those three words, he gently kisses the kid on the forehead and promise to do the same thing again the next night. 'Promise?' the kid always asks, even though he already knows his dad will say, 'Yes son, I promise'."

She whispered the last part and slowly began to draw figures on her thigh. Troy reached out to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he gently touched her soft cheek and wiped away a small tear with his thumb. Even though her hair was a mess, and her eyes were all botchy, Troy couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes on.

"_You know that I could use somebody  
you know that I could use somebody  
someone like you"_

"I'm sure that kid will grow up to love his son just the same." he said as he dropped his hand from Gabriella's cheek.

"No." she said, shaking her head.

"No?"

"No." she shook her head again as a small smile started to form on her lips, "The son's going to grow up and have a daughter. But that daughter is going to see her dad, as the best man in the world, her hero. He's going to do everything with her, take her to the park, even play tea party with her."

Troy let out a small laugh as an image of him playing tea party with Emily about a year ago flashed before his eyes. He really didn't want to do it. He'd rather play playstation with Chad and Jason at Chad's house. But his parents told him he had to babysit Emily because she was sick and grandma couldn't go over and watch her. So he did what any older brother would do to make his little sister feel better. He played tea party with her and even spoke in a British accent. He helped her play dress up, and even watched countless movies about damsels in distress who waited for their prince charming to save them.

Emily.

The single thought of his sister sent his thoughts into a whirlwind. He missed her. He wished she could be here with him and Gabriella, in the car heading towards an unknown destination while making up random stories about the different people they see. He wished that he could be there to hold her and tuck her into bed. Who was going to get rid of the monsters in her closet?

'_Troy.' _

Troy felt like letting out a bitter laugh at the thought. How could he protect her from monsters in her closet when he couldn't even protect her from the real monsters?

"Troy?"

Her voice brought him back from his thoughts. He didn't even realize she had been calling his name.

"Yeah?" he asked as he quickly looked towards her.

"Where are we going anyway?" she asked.

He had thought long and hard about the answer to that question himself. He tried to think of all his resources, anyone who would be willing to help him on such short notice and at this time of night. Unfortunately for him, only one person met the criteria for him. He didn't know if his source would do it though, especially considering the circumstances they were under, but it was worth a shot right?

"We're going to a friend's house." he said.

"Oh." she said as she tucked her left leg under her other one and turned her body towards him, "Does this _friend_ live in Santa Fe?"

"No, but this _friend_ has a house around the area."

"Yeah?" she asked

"Yeah." he nodded.

"So where exactly does your friend live?" she asked. He turned to look at her and couldn't help but become lost in the big doe eyes which bore into his as her luscious curls draped down her bony shoulders.

"Oh, it's umm…it's just this one place."

Gabriella arched her eyebrow, "Ok, what's _it_ called?"

"Oh…it's umm…it's just this place…" he trailed off. He cracked a small smile while he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Uh-huh…" she motioned for him to continue with her free hand.

"J-Just this one place called Lava Springs."

* * *

"They're gone Bobby," said the blonde doctor, "I can't believe they're actually gone."

Bobby sighed as he wiped his face with his hands in frustration, "Yeah, me neither."

The two were currently sitting in the viewing room next to Gabriella's now vacant room. They had just received word from one of the security guards that Troy and Gabriella were spotted running out of the building a little over an hour ago. Now, they were sitting, waiting for something to happen.

In all her life of working in the medical field, Jaime Sullivan never found a case that she couldn't figure out. There was never a patient which she couldn't diagnose. Now, as she sat in the metal chair with her best friend next to her, a sudden thought entered her mind, where did she go wrong?

She did everything that she was supposed to. She took notes, she spoke to her, hell, she even got Troy to talk to her. But where exactly did she go wrong? To Jaime, it seemed like she had done everything possible to help, and all that did was make them end up where they were now, in the viewing room staring at an empty room in front of them, waiting to hear about what had happen to the two runaways.

_Ring._

The sudden ring suddenly pulled Jaime from her thoughts. She looked down at the phone on the table and then looked at Bobby who did nothing but stare at the transparent wall into the next room.

She sighed before she timidly grabbed the phone and flipped it open.

"H-Hello?" she said into the mouth piece.

"_You know, I thought we had an agreement?"_ she heard the voice say.

"And what was that?"

"_I thought we agreed that if you can get me Troy and Gabriella, then I would give you back your nurse."_

Jaime let out a shaky breath, "What did you do to her?"

"_I haven't killed her yet if that's what you think."_

"Yet?" she asked.

A sigh was heard from the other line, _"You know Dr. Sullivan, I really thought you would be different. But you are by far, the biggest disappointment I've had."_

She sighed into the mouth piece and ran a hand through her hair, "Why's that?"

"_Think about. A doctor with a degree in almost everything failed to get a patient to talk. You had to get the help of a __**boy**__ for crying out loud. And now, you've let them escape. Tsk, tsk, tsk…Dr. Benton would be ashamed."_

Dr. Benton.

Her eyes widened at the thought of her boss. What was she going to say to him when he returns? _'Hi Dr. Benton, everything's been great…besides the fact that I lost a patient who ran away with our juvenile janitor…but like I said, that's beside the point.'_….yea right.

"_You're lucky he's being delayed for a while, or else what would he say if he found out that you lost a patient and not only that, but you let her runaway with the janitor of all people." _He said in a mocking tone.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"_I'm afraid you can't do anything anymore." _

"Please!" she said frantically, "Don't hurt Carol, I'll do anything just please don't hurt her."

"_I already told you that your time has passed. There's absolutely nothing you can do now."_

"Please, just give me one more chance." she pleaded.

She heard the man sigh before he spoke, _"Get me Gabriella and Troy."_

"H-How am I supposed to do that?"

"_You're the doctor. Figure it out."_

Jaime sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "I wouldn't even know where to start."

"_Look Dr. Sullivan, it's not fucking rocket science. If I were a suicidal girl who treasures a snow globe of the big apple more than anything in the world, where would I go?"_

Jaime felt her eyes widen, "New York? But how-"

"_Let's just say that the city holds a bit of history for the girl."_

"History?"

"_You got two days."_ He said before the line suddenly went dead.

Jaime hung up the phone and looked down at it as she held it in her palm.

"Bobby, looks you're going back home sooner than expected."

She expected a response in return, but heard none.

"Bobby?" she said as she looked up and gasped.

She was the only one in the room.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me!" said a high screechy voice.

Troy looked over at Gabriella who did nothing but look down at her shoes.

If there was anything that Sharpay Evans was known for, it was her ability to take something small, and turn it into something big. In all his seventeen years of existence, Troy had never met anyone as overdramatic as Sharpay. Her voice reminded him of nails scratching away at a chalk board and the pounds of make up on her face reminded him of a clown he saw at the circus he took Emily to during the summer.

"I wish I was Sharpay," he said, "but we had nowhere else to go."

"I can't believe this," she said crossing her arms as she leaned against the door frame to her mansion, "_the_ Troy Bolton shows up on my doorstep with _her_ of all people to ask me for help."

"I'm just as shocked as you are Sharpay." she heard _her_ say.

At the mention of her name, Sharpay suddenly looked Gabriella up and down, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Sharpay!" yelled Troy before he looked towards Gabriella who had a dear in headlights expression on her face.

"What? It was just a question, I-mean you don't really hear about a freaky math girl suddenly showing up on your doorstep with a…" she hesitated, "bun in the oven."

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other with confused looks before they both looked down at Gabriella's belly. Sure enough, she still wore the coat with the pillow tucked underneath it.

"Especially when she committed suicide…wait a minute!" she said with a snap of her finger, "It was all a cover up wasn't it? It was just some ploy to make us think you're dead when really you're pregnant." she suddenly looked at Troy and pointed her perfectly manicured nailed towards him, "And with HIM! Let me guess, his dad made you leave right? He got nervous cuz Troy wouldn't get as much scholarship offers with a baby around. You know, I never really though Coach Bolton was that type of man to send his son's true love away. "

Troy suddenly felt his face turn a crimson red at her _very_ true statement. He looked over at Gabriella who suddenly found her shoes the most interesting thing in the world.

"But then again, can you blame him? I-mean scholarships equals college ball and college ball equals NBA which equals to billions of dollars. I guess you can't really blame him for wanting the best for his _only_ son. NO! I bet it was _your_ foster mom! Tell me, was she bitter because you were able to have a kid and she didn't? Oh, I bet that was priceless, why if I were her I'd…"

"Sharpay, I'm not pregnant." Gabriella said quickly, in an effort to stop Sharpay's rant.

"The hell you're not. I recognize a pregnant belly when I see one."

"Really, I'm not."

"Trust me Sharpay, she's not." said Troy, relieved that Gabriella finally had been able to stop Sharpay's rant.

Sharpay did nothing but stare at them with wide eyes, "Y-You're not?"

"No." said Gabriella, shaking her head. She then reached under her coat and pulled out the pillow which she had quickly stuffed inside the coat back at the hospital.

"B-But then…how…what are you guys doing here?"

Troy ran a hand through his hair before he stepped in front of her, "Sharpay, we need your help."

"Help?"

"Yeah…look, I'll tell you about everything if you just let us stay for the night."

Sharpay did nothing but stare back and forth between the two and put two and two together. Their clothes were wrinkled and they reeked of sweat. There were dark circled under their eyes and there was no doubt about the fact that Troy had scars running up and down his arms as if someone had scratched him repeatedly. There was no doubt about it. They were in trouble and they needed her help.

"Please Sharpay." she heard Gabriella say, "You're the only one that can help us right now."

Sharpay let out a loud sigh. Why does the drama always manage to find her?

"Alright." she said, "But don't get any dirt on the carpet or else daddy would kill me."

She stepped aside to let the two step into the house. She closed the door behind them and led them up the stairs, "You guys can stay in two of the guestrooms."

She walked down the hall and opened a door to reveal a spacious room with a queen sized bed and matching furniture.

"You can stay in here," she told Gabriella, "and Troy can stay in the one across the hall."

She motioned to another closed door before she stepped into Gabriella's room, "First things first, you guys look and smell like shit. There's a bathroom in this one as well as Troy's and you'll find towels on the shelf in closet."

She walked towards the closet and grabbed a towel, then she walked into the guest bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet above the sink, "Here's some soap and some shampoo."

She then turned towards Gabriella and handed the items to her.

"Thanks Sharpay." said Gabriella as she took them from the blonde's hands.

Sharpay nodded before she walked out the bathroom, "I'll go get you some old pajamas of mine along with a new set of clothes and I'll get some of Ryan's clothes for you Troy. I'll also tell our cook Henry to make you guys something; you guys look like you're starving."

With that, she walked out of Gabriella's room. She was about to go down the stairs and ask Henry to fix something quick, before she heard her name. She turned around and was met by Troy's piercing eyes.

"Thanks." he said.

"You're welcome." She said nodding her head and turned to descend down the stairs.

* * *

Gabriella was drying her hair with the soft towel Sharpay had given her. The bath she had just taken felt like heaven upon her skin. She hadn't had a nice long relaxing bath in a really long time. Now she was about to get under the covers before she turned towards the window in the room. She walked towards it and almost gasped at the view. Although it was night, Gabriella could clearly see the reflection of the moon on the lake from the golf course. The moon and the stars illuminated the sky and shined brightly above the mountains in the distance.

'_Te prometo que todo estara' bien.'_

Gabriella slowly closed her eyes as she felt the tears form in her eyes at the echo of her father's voice in her head.

'_I promise.'_

She opened her eyes again and looked up at the night sky. She then slowly kneeled down in front of the window and placed her elbows on the window seat.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep." She began softly the words which she always prayed as a little girl. She was surprised she still knew the words for it had been so long since she had said them, "Should I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."

"I love you papi." She whispered into the night before tears completely engulfed her eyes.

She thought she was alone. She thought that no one would be able to hear her. However what she didn't expect was to be heard by a certain someone in the form of a sandy haired boy with ice blue eyes.

She didn't expect to be heard by someone who wished that she would say those exact three words to him one day.

Yes, she never expected to be heard by Troy Bolton, the boy who was so madly in love with her.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked this chapter. I tried to include as much Troyella as I possibly could. The reason for this long chapter is because I'm afraid I wont be able to update for a while. You see, I have AP testing all this week and next and it's important that I stay focused on those. So yea, Even though I originally intended Sharpay's part to be in the next chapter and just leave this one off with Dr. Sullivan, I figured it wouldnt be fair to you guys so, I hope you liked the special treat.**

**Thanks for taking the time to read my story and to review. It makes me happy that most of you guys haven't forgotten about this story. Thanks so much!**

**P.S. The song in this chapter is called** _Use Somebody_** by** _Kings of Leon_**. Its a great song. There's a link in my profile if you guys want to listen to it.**

**P.P.S. Also, I finally made a trailer for this story. It's a bit different than this story because I used the original movie trailer. But the differences are minor and wont really change anything. If you've already seen it, then you know that I'm talking about. There's a link of my youtube profile on my profile or just go on my profile and scroll down to the Dont Say A Word section. While you're there, check out my other videos too!**

**P.P.P.S. HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO aka HAPPY MAY 5th (for those who celebrate it) **

**Thanks again and please review! :) **


	24. Ignorance is Bliss

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

_Jaime hung up the phone and looked down at it as she held it in her palm._

"_Bobby, looks you're going back home sooner than expected."_

_She expected a response in return, but heard none._

"_Bobby?" she said as she looked up and gasped._

_She was the only one in the room._

_---_

_She thought she was alone. She thought that no one would be able to hear her. However what she didn't expect was to be heard by a certain someone in the form of a sandy haired boy with ice blue eyes._

_She didn't expect to be heard by someone who wished that she would say those exact three words to him one day._

_Yes, she never expected to be heard by Troy Bolton, the boy who was so madly in love with her._

* * *

**Chapter 23**

Jaime clutched the sleek phone in her hand as she practically ran down the hallway towards her office.

"Bobby?" she said as she stuck her head in.

However, she saw no one in the room. The next ten minutes were spent walking up and down the corridor, sticking her head into every room, even the men's restrooms. However, although she looked in every place she could possibly think of, he was no longer there.

This just didn't make any sense at all. Why would Bobby leave so suddenly? These questions wrapped themselves around Jaime's brain as she returned to her office and sat behind her mahogany desk. She neatly folded her hands on top and sighed.

Nothing made sense anymore.

How could life be so perfect one minute and an utter mess the next? Two weeks ago, she thought herself a young, strong, and beautiful doctor, one of the best in the city. There was never a patient or a case which she couldn't diagnose. There was never _anything_ that she couldn't do.

But now?

Now she just sat there, in silence wondering where in the hell she went wrong.

As she sat there thinking these thoughts, she scanned her desk and did a double take when something caught her eye. There, from the corner of her eye, she could see a manila folder with papers sticking out of the edges. She didn't have to read the name neatly labeled on the tab to figure out whose it was.

With a sigh, she took the folder from the side of her desk and placed it in front of her. She opened it and started to rummage through them.

_Alexandra, age 14, Sacramento California…Natasha, age 15, Seattle Washington…_

She sighed as she began to read over every paper in Gabriella's file. There has to be something there.

_Karen, age 15, Boston Massachusetts…Becca, age 16, Phoenix Arizona…Bailey-Marie, age 16, San Diego California…Alexia, age 16, El Paso Texas…Violet, age 17, New York City New York…_

Jaime suddenly did a double check.

**Name: **_Violet Bennings _

**Age: **_17_

**Location:** _New York City, New York._

New York.

"_Let's just say that the city holds a bit of history for the girl."_

She suddenly looked towards her computer screen which displayed her google homepage. She then looked back at the file of "Violet" in front of her before she reached towards her computer mouse and clicked on the keyword box. She typed in the name Violet Bennings and suicide. She then moved the arrow on the search button before she pressed it.

Less than a second later, her screen was bombarded with links leading to different websites with articles that highlighted 'Violet Bennings' and 'suicide'. She clicked on the first one on the screen and began to read.

'_A seventeen year old girl tried to commit suicide last night…'_

She then went back to look at some of the other articles.

'…_seventeen year old troubled girl…'_

'…_suicide…'_

They all said the same thing. She tried to kill herself but was unsuccessful in her attempt. She let out a shaky breath that she didn't even know she was holding in.

'…_A seventeen year old girl was wheeled into the Weill Cornell Center in New York after attempting to commit suicide…'_

New York Weill Cornell Center.

Jaime brushed her blonde bangs aside as she clicked on the link that read, _New York Presbyterian Hospital - New York Weill Cornell Center_. She scrolled down the page until she found the phone number for the trauma center.

She then grabbed her phone and quickly dialed the number on the screen.

"Hello this is the Weil Cornell Center, how may I help you?" asked a cheery voice coming from the other end of the line.

"H-Hello." Said Jamie, not expecting someone as cheery to answer the phone to the trauma center, "Umm…I'm sorry, I know it's late but—"

"Nonsense, the trauma center is always open and always happy to help no matter what time it is."

"Umm, okay then. My name is Dr. Jaime Sullivan and I'm a psychiatrist at Albuquerque County Hospital in Albuquerque New Mexico. I'm calling because I have a question concerning a past patient of yours."

"Ok, do you know what the patients name was?"

"Yes, her name was Violet Bennings and I believe she was a patient there about three, maybe four months ago."

She could hear clicking noises coming from the other end of the line as she assumed the desk clerk was looking up the information on their computer database.

"Violet Bennings, admitted for trying to commit suicide?" asked the desk clerk.

Jaime nodded her head, "That's the one." she said once she realized that she couldn't be seen, "Can you tell me if she was ever admitted to your psychiatric ward or who her doctor was or anything useful like that?"

There was a few more seconds of silence where all that was heard was he clickings from the other end of the line.

"Yes, she was admitted to the psychiatric ward for a total of two weeks before she was discharged."

"Discharged?" Jaime questioned, "But why? Who in their right mind would release her? Wasn't she on suicide watch?"

"I believe she was."

"Then why would you discharge her?"

"I'm very sorry doctor, but I don't sign the discharge forms, I'm just a clerk."

Jaime sighed knowing very well that she was getting angry at the wrong person, "You're right, I'm sorry. Can you tell me the reasons as to why she was discharged?"

"No, I'm sorry but I'm not at liberty to discuss that."

Jaime let out a soft groan. She had forgotten about doctor/patient confidentiality agreements.

"Well, can you at least tell me who the doctor that discharged her was?" she asked.

There were a few more clickings before she heard the clerk say, "Dr. Bobby Drake."

It was then that, Jaime's world was suddenly turned upside down.

* * *

"Thanks a lot for helping us out Sharpay. It really means a lot to us." said Troy as he put a duffel bag full of clothes she had given him along with food supplies and money.

"I already told you that it was no big deal." she said as she kept the sun from hitting her eyes with her perfectly manicured hands, "I'm just sorry that I wasn't able to get you the private plane but mother wanted to completely redecorate it for spring break."

"Trust me Sharpay, the first class tickets to New York is more than enough." said Gabriella.

It was now the morning after Troy and Gabriella's fateful escape from the hospital. After a long shower and a good night's rest, it was time for Troy and Gabriella to continue their journey to New York.

He had awoken early that morning, slightly before dawn. The reason? After he made sure Gabriella was safe in bed and asleep, he tip-toed to his own room and instantly fell asleep only to be awakened about an hour later by the buzzing of the sleek phone.

He didn't want to answer it. He knew he was in deep shit. But somehow that didn't bother him as much as it should have. So he just laid there, watching as the phone vibrated on the night stand next to the bed. It rang once, then twice. By the third time, he felt his hands become hot and clammy. His breathing became heavier, as he was sure he would burst if he didn't answer it soon. Once it rang the fourth time, he quickly sat up and flipped open the phone.

He didn't say anything, he didn't do anything, except let the sound of his breath hit the speaker.

"_You're very brave you know that Troy?"_ said the voice from the other end.

Troy did nothing but continue breathing into the mouth piece.

"_What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"_ he asked with a laugh that made the hairs on Troy's arms and neck stand on edge.

"_Well, as long as you're quiet you might as well listen," _the voice continued,_ "What you did, was very __**stupid**__. Within the span of 3 hours, you managed to break two of my rules and I'm going to warn you about breaking the first one."_

"W-What do you mean?" asked Troy, finally finding his voice.

"_Do you remember the second and third rule? __**I**__ make the demands around here which also means that __**I**__ make the decisions and __**I**__ give the orders on what you should and shouldn't do and so far, you haven't followed through with either of them! Third, you must __**always**__ answer the phone not sit there and stare at it which I'm sure you did!"_

"Listen-" began Troy, however he was cut off before he could get another word out.

"_No, __**you**__ listen Troy! You better pray to God that he doesn't let you break the first rule and tell anyone about why you're on the run and you better not do anything stupid anymore!"_

"Look, I don't understand what the fuck it is you want me to do." said Troy as he found his voice again.

"_You do nothing but get me the fucking number! Or say good bye to Emily."_

"Look, I will get you the number alright? I just need some time."

"_You have three days left. That's the only time I'm going to give you."_

Troy sighed into the mouth piece as he rubbed his hand over his face.

"_Troy. Are. We. Clear?" _he heard the voice say.

"Crystal."

He tried falling asleep after that but found that he couldn't. He couldn't get Emily's face out of his mind and he hated the fact that he was in this situation because of the girl he couldn't help but fall for. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't he just have Gabriella without the threat of losing his sister?

Troy pondered over this throughout the night. Once he saw that it had struck six, he decided to forget about sleeping and started getting ready for the long road ahead. He took another long, hot bath and dressed himself in some clothes that Sharpay had given him to wear, saying that it's all of Ryan's clothes from last season, whatever that meant. He was grateful, that none of the clothes she had given him were brightly colored, nor were they bedazzled with swarovski crystals.

He walked out of the room and quietly snuck his head into Gabriella's room. He found her laying on the soft cushion of the king sized bed, sleeping peacefully. Her face, that of an angels, rested on one of the pillows. She was curled into a little ball, and looked as if a small smile was playing on her lips. He wished he knew who it was that she was dreaming of, and wished that he had had the same luck in the sleeping department that night. He decided to let her continue her dream and slowly closed the door.

He then walked down the stairs and was surprised to see their blonde savior slaving over the stove in the kitchen. She wore pink fuzzy slippers with grey sweats and a pink hoodie. Her hair was up in a messy bun with stray blonde hairs sticking out. It was the first time, Troy noticed, that he had ever seen her without any make-up on. She looked pretty, Troy admitted, and like a normal person on a lazy morning instead of the fake stuck up bitch she usually looked like.

She hummed an unrecognizable song and didn't even notice Troy had entered the kitchen until he hesitantly cleared his throat, alerting her of his presence.

"What are you doing up this early Bolton?" she asked him as she turned her back to him and continued with what Troy suspected was scrambled eggs.

"I should ask you the same thing, _Evans_."

She turned off the stove and walked towards a cupboard to retrieve plates.

"I always wake up this early." she said as she placed some eggs on a plate with bacon, "I'm a pretty light sleeper. What about you?"

"I uh…couldn't sleep." he said as he ran his hand through his hair.

"I bet. You guys must have had a hell of night." she said, as she placed the plate full of eggs and bacon in front of him.

He looked down at it and arched his eyebrow before he looked back at her with confusion written in his features.

"What?" she asked, "I didn't poison it if that's what you think."

He shook his head, "No I'm just…surprised."

"That I made you guys breakfast?"

"Well…yeah. You hardly ever do anything nice to others. You're known as the first class bitch at school…no offense."

She blew a strand of hair away from her face and gave a small smile, "None taken."

"Can I ask why?" he asked as she continued to serve another plate.

She shrug her shoulders, "I don't know, I always make breakfast for myself since Henry doesn't usually start work until seven. I figured that you would wake up early since you guys seemed hurried last night, so I said to myself, _'Sharpay, why don't you do something nice for that bastard even though he savagely dumped you last year?'_ so I did."

Troy rolled his eyes, as he heard her chuckle at the last statement.

"No, but seriously, I felt kinda bad last night about…you know, making Gabriella feel kinda awkward about her whole suicide situation and about making comments about the two of you together. I figured it was the least I can do for you and for her."

"Sharpay, trust me, you've done more than enough."

She shrugged her shoulders again as she watched him eat in silence.

"Don't get too full now," she said as she stood up and got a mixing bowl from the counter, "I still need to finish making the pancakes."

He gave her a small smile as she began to stir the pancake mix.

"You'll be the first and probably the last to ever try my cooking." She said.

"Should I be scared?" he joked.

"For your information, Zeke has taught me how to make pancakes along with almost everything else from scratch." she said with a sly smile.

He gave her a small smile and continued eating. After a small moment of silence, he sighed.

"Sharpay, I know you probably want to know why we were at your doorstep last night."

She stopped stirring and looked at him.

"But the truth is-"

"I don't want to know." she quickly said as she looked down at the bowl and began stirring again.

Her remark made him look up at her, "What?"

"You heard me." She said as she gave her back to him and turned on the stove, "I don't want to know."

"W-Why?" he asked.

She sighed and turned to look at him, "I'll admit that I _really_ did want to know why you showed up together looking like Gabriella had a bun in the oven last night…why she tried to kill herself and what you were doing with her. But then I saw how serious you guys were and most importantly how sacred Gabriella really looked, and I just knew right then and there that this was some serious shit. So I figured that in this case, ignorance was bliss."

She gave him a small smile at the end of her speech and then turned to begin pouring some batter on the pan. After another moment of silence, Troy found his voice again.

"Sharpay?" he said.

"Yeah?" she asked him once she turned to face him.

"Thanks."

She offered him another small smile before she turned and continued on with her pancakes.

* * *

"How much longer?" asked Gabriella as both she and Troy walked around hand in hand in Albuquerque international airport.

Troy shrugged as he stopped and took the ticket out of his pocket, "It says here we leave at six."

"At night?" whined Gabriella.

"Well…yeah. I guess Sharpay didn't get the earliest time available."

Gabriella shook her head, "Let me see them."

He gave her the plane tickets and looked around the airport while she read over them.

There were a lot of people there…tall, short, fat, skinny. He saw families, couples, and lone travelers. He guessed that a lot of them were still trying to escape for the holidays.

However, amidst all the different types of people that he saw, two men stood out to him. They both wore dark blue jeans with black jackets and dark sunglasses. They walked in sync with each other, maneuvering their way around the crowd of people.

He felt his heart beat faster with every step closer that the men took. They were here for them.

"Troy!" he heard Gabriella groan over the crowd, "Six is the arrival time."

"What?" he asked as he kept his eyes on the men, who were getting a scolding from an old woman because they had apparently not watched where they were going.

"You got the times mixed up. The plane leaves at eleven. It's a five hour flight so we get there around four. But that's New Mexico time so we still have to add two hours since New York is ahead of us by two so…Troy are you even listening to me?"

He turned to look at her, "W-What did you say?"

The truth was that he hadn't been listening. The two men had since stopped apologizing to the woman and were walking towards them again.

"Troy!" she groaned, "I'm saying that our plane leaves in like fifteen minutes!"

She tugged his hand and began to lead the way towards their gate. However, Troy turned back and noticed that once they began to move, the two men began to walk faster towards them.

"Gabriella, we have to run." he said as he griped her hand tighter.

"Trust me Troy, we'll still make it if we don't." she said.

"No." he stopped her, held her arms, and looked right into her chocolate eyes, "We seriously have to run."

It was then that she looked over Troy's shoulder and noticed the two men almost jogging towards them. They were here for them.

She looked at Troy and with wide eyes as she nodded her head.

He held her hand as he began to lead them away, "When I say go, you run ok?"

"W-What about you?" she asked as she turned her head back slightly to see the men still following them.

"Don't worry about me, you just run towards the gate and get on the plane. Give me my ticket."

She hesitantly gave him his ticket.

"Troy—" she began before she was cut off.

"Just trust me ok? I'll be on the plane with you."

She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and nodded her head slightly.

They slowed down a bit. He looked to his left and saw the men's reflection on the glass of a store window, following them. He let out a shaky breath as he saw them get closer, too close. It was go time.

"Go!" he suddenly yelled.

Gabriella suddenly let go of Troy's hand and ran forward towards the large crowd of people.

"Excuse me! I'm sorry!" she would say as she maneuvered herself around people. She looked back and saw that one of the men was furiously chasing after her, pushing innocent people out of the way.

She kept running forward as fast as she could and was relieved when she saw her gate coming into view. She wanted to laugh in delight when she saw that her plane was boarding. She gripped the plane ticket in her hand and made her way to the front of line where she hurriedly showed her boarding pass and made her way into the plane. She looked back and gave a sigh of relief when she saw that the man was being held back by the lady and some other crew member.

Meanwhile, Troy ran in the opposite direction, deciding that it was best to split the men. He looked back and saw that one of them was on his tail. He noticed it was the smaller of the two and prayed to God that Gabriella would be able to out run her pursuer.

He pushed his way around the people, muttering apologies here and there. He looked up and saw a huge digital clock displayed for everyone to see and noted that his plane would be leaving in five minutes. He had to get to the plane, and to Gabriella.

As he was running, he saw a men's bathroom sign and got an idea. He ran in and quickly hid inside one of the stalls.

He heard the man come in a minute later.

"I know you're in here boy." He heard him say.

"The boss isn't very happy with you. If you come out now we promise we won't hurt your girlfriend."

Troy held his breath as he stood on top of the toilet seat and listened to the sound of his footsteps.

"Even though she's one hot piece of ass."

Once he heard the man stop in front of his stall, he kicked the door wide open, causing the door to make contact with the man's face. The man muttered curses as Troy jumped off the seat and swung his duffel bag at the man. The man fell back and hit his head against the tiled wall, causing him to lose consciousness.

"Don't you dare fucking talking about Gabriella like that." he said, before he walked out of the bathroom and made his way towards his plane, and Gabriella.

* * *

**So, I dont even know where to begin. I really am sorry for not updating. I sincerely give my apologies to those of you have waited this long for this chapter and I feel as if it's not even good enough. Really...I dont know what happened. I'v had half of this chapter written for a long time and I was finally able to finish it today. I honestly dont know why I took this long. A lot has happened these past three months. I graduated high school, I turned 18 and I was literally heartbroken. But thats no excuse.****I guess I just havent had enough inspiration to finish it but I do now and hopefully with your help, I'll be able to get my muse back and be able to finish writing this story. My goal is to finish it by the end of the year. It's ridiculous that I've spent more than a year on this story and I dont want to spend two years because I have so MANY ideas for new stories. Anyway, I hope that you guys can find it in your hearts to forgive me. Thanks for reading. :)**


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